Abstract

Performance is considered an elusive concept (Sicotte et al. 1998), yet despite this, performance measures have proliferated and have led to the creation of a thriving performance measurement industry (Meyer and Gupta 1994). Today, it is impossible to avoid reports on the performance of public and private sector organizations, yet results are often difficult to interpret. The difficulty in defining performance lies in the different ways individuals conceptualize organizations and the paradoxical nature of the measures themselves. (The terms "performance measure" and "performance indicator" are used interchangeably throughout this article.)