Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Performance measurement offers opportunities for better understanding of organizational processes, activities, and products and carries a potential for improving the overall public organizational performance.  However, many of the governments that have developed performance measurement systems do not use the performance information.  The optimistic beliefs that if performance information exists it would directly lead use of the performance information, rational decision and policy making, and improvements have not come true. The actual use of performance information for improvement of services and decision making is limited and modest and there is a little evidence on how to connect the performance measures with making budgeting and other decisions as well as improving policy implementation, governmental accountability and transparency. 

This study examines the factors that facilitate and hinder the use of performance information among local government administrators in Florida. Acknowledging the incompleteness of many theoretical and conceptual models which have been used in previous studies on performance management and the absence of a theory on use of performance information, this study uses grounded theory to develop a theory and test a model of use of performance information. The study focuses on cities and counties, members of the Florida Benchmarking Consortium, and surveys all departmental administrators whose tasks are related with collection and/or reporting of performance information.  The study examines the following research questions: To what extent  and how do local public administrators  use performance information?, What are the predictors of effective use of performance information among local public administrators?, Whether and to what extent do design adequacy of performance measurement systems, institutionalization of performance measurement, organizational support, individual factors and external influences impact the use of performance information among local public administrators?

In order to examine the research questions, an online survey is administrated to all departments across the cities and counties members of the Florida Benchmarking Consortium. The results are analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. 

This study makes several contributions. First, the study focuses on local governments, but takes the perspective of local government administrators who have been largely neglected in the existing literature on use of performance information. Second, although earlier studies have examined uses of performance information in public decision making, they did not explore the broader use of performance information for other purposes such as accountability, promotion, strategic decision making, policy making, resources allocation, and human resources. Third, this study provides holistic insight into the promotional and hindrance factors on performance information use among public administrators and creates and tests an elaborated model on the predictors of use of performance information on local level. Fourth, the theoretical insight from grounded theory allow for all-inclusive examination of the issue and does not pose limitation to focus on particular determinant or aspect.  Fifth, the progress in information technology and decreasing hardware and software expenses as well as availability of performance data create new opportunities for local governments in field of performance measurement and management and this study explores avenues for their greater use.