Performance in Public Organizations: Clarifying the Conceptual Space

TY - JOUR

T1 - Performance in Public Organizations

T2 - Clarifying the Conceptual Space

AU - Andersen, Lotte Bøgh

AU - Boesen, Andreas

AU - Pedersen, Lene Holm

PY - 2016/11/1

Y1 - 2016/11/1

N2 - Performance in public organizations is a key concept that requires clarification. Based on a conceptual review of research published in 10 public administration journals, this article proposes six distinctions to describe the systematic differences in performance criteria: From which stakeholder's perspective is performance being assessed? Are the criteria formal or informal? Are the criteria subjective? Which process focus and product focus do they have, if any? What is the unit of analysis? Based on these distinctions, the performance criteria of existing studies used in an empirical review of management and performance are classified. The results illustrate how a systematization of the conceptual space of performance in public organizations can help researchers select what to study and what to leave out with greater accuracy while also bringing greater clarity to public debates about performance.

AB - Performance in public organizations is a key concept that requires clarification. Based on a conceptual review of research published in 10 public administration journals, this article proposes six distinctions to describe the systematic differences in performance criteria: From which stakeholder's perspective is performance being assessed? Are the criteria formal or informal? Are the criteria subjective? Which process focus and product focus do they have, if any? What is the unit of analysis? Based on these distinctions, the performance criteria of existing studies used in an empirical review of management and performance are classified. The results illustrate how a systematization of the conceptual space of performance in public organizations can help researchers select what to study and what to leave out with greater accuracy while also bringing greater clarity to public debates about performance.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84971290753&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/puar.12578

DO - 10.1111/puar.12578

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:84971290753

SN - 0033-3352

VL - 76

SP - 852

EP - 862

JO - Public Administration Review

JF - Public Administration Review

IS - 6

ER -