Realising dynamic abilities in a measurement system – A participatory case study

It is generally accepted by academics and practitioners alike that production performance measures ought to be derived from the strategy of a company. However, unlike the context that measurement systems operate in, they appear to be static. Hence, companies often fail to continuously reflect the dynamic business environment and their new priorities in their performance measurement systems. In the rapidly changing environment of today the development, implementation and use of adequate performance measurement frameworks are some of the major challenges confronting organisations and are also significant success factors. The purpose of this paper is to present key contributing factors in creating dynamic abilities in a production performance measurement system. The factors are derived by a literature study, a case and by contrasting the case to the literature. The case presented is a participatory study that stretches over 10 months and follows a project leader with the task of re-designing and implementing a support structure for a production performance measurement system. Following the introduction, the paper is divided into three sections: the literature review, the case study presentation and finally a discussion regarding what factors amplify and inhibit the dynamics in the support structure of a performance measurement system. The conclusion derived is that four additional factors have emerged as enablers for a dynamic ability in the measurement systems besides those identified in the literature study.