Performance management in action: a configurational analysis of the drivers of the purposeful use of performance information

The article explores which configurations of organizational and individual conditions support the purposeful use of performance information in the public sector. Prior research has predominantly focused on the effects of individual factors without paying as much attention to how these factors interact to influence public managers’ attitudes to integrating performance information into their decision-making. The study employs a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fs-QCA) to examine the different combinations of organizational and individual drivers that facilitate purposeful performance information use. The results show that goal clarity is a necessary but insufficient condition for purposeful information use. It needs to be complemented by a mature performance management system, public managers with prosocial motivation who engage in extra-role behaviors within a non-innovative organizational culture, or a developmental culture that motivates managers who are unaware of the social impact generated by their work. The study suggests the need to integrate actions that support the purposeful use of performance information and define clear departmental goals. Although the latter is a necessary condition, it needs to be supported by other organizational and individual factors. Also, the study deepens the theory of the drivers of purposeful performance information use in the public sector by adopting a configurational approach and exploring how organizational and individual conditions interact to foster information use. As the case selection does not allow for direct generalizations, future studies could replicate the configurational analysis in different countries and sectors and introduce additional environmental, organizational, and individual conditions.