Exploring the Link Between Performance Information Use and Organizational Performance: A Contingency Approach

Abstract

This article contributes to the still relatively small body of empirical literature on the relationship between performance management and organizational performance. It focuses on the effects of performance information use for managerial and oversight purposes. Using a contingency perspective, it argues that the effect of data use on performance is dependent on other contextual factors. The article finds support for this claim, showing that the impact of managerial information use on performance is stronger in organizations that have adopted a prospecting strategy, whereas this effect tends to vanish for reactors. It also finds, however, that the relationship between a principal’s data use for oversight purposes and the agent’s performance is not contingent on whether the principal is perceived as a monitor or a trusted partner. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.