Determinants of Public Administrators' Use of Performance Information: Evidence from Local Governments in Florida

• Date: 01 September 2019
• Published date: 01 September 2019
• Author: Tamara Dimitrijevska‐Markoski,P. Edward French
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13036

Determinants of Public Administrators’ Use of Performance Information: Evidence from Local Governments in Florida 699

Abstract: Performance management has been a focus of scholars and practitioners for more than 25 years, yet the use

of performance information has not greatly expanded as a result of this attention. Acknowledging that performance

measurement is not an end in itself but rather a means to enhance focus on results and value, this article evaluates

the determinants of the use of performance information by local government administrators. An online survey was

administered to local government employees involved in the 2015–16 Florida Benchmarking Consortium. Analysis of

the data demonstrates that institutionalization of performance measurement has the strongest statistically significant

positive association with the use of performance information, followed by the design adequacy of the performance

measurement system.

Evidence for Practice

• The extent to which performance practices are incorporated into the rules and routines of an organization is

key to the use of performance information for decision-making purposes.

• Performance measurement systems should provide clear, accessible, timely, and appropriate data linked to

departmental targets, goals, and priorities.

• Opportunities and resources are more important determinants of performance information use than

individual factors such as knowledge, skills, training, work experience, support for performance

measurement, and public service motivation.

Tamara Dimitrijevska-Markoski

Mississippi State University

P. Edward French

Mississippi State University

Determinants of Public Administrators’ Use of Performance

Information: Evidence from Local Governments in Florida

Research Article

Performance management has been a focus

of scholars and practitioners for the past

25 years; however, an apparent and prevailing

disconnect exists between the availability of

performance information and its actual use by

public administrators to influence decisions and

outcomes. Scholars and practitioners alike have had

a long-lasting preoccupation with the collection of

performance information (Henri 2006), but the actual

use of performance information is still limited and

modest (Ammons and Rivenbark 2008; Askim 2007;

Grizzle 2002; Julnes and Holzer 2001; Moynihan

and Pandey 2010; Van de Walle and Van Dooren

2010; Yetano 2013). Performance measurement is

not an end in itself but rather a means of engaging

in policy and management (Heinrich and Marschke

2010, 186), with the ultimate goal of improved

organizational performance (Franco-Santos,

Lucianetti, and Bourne 2012; Poister, Pasha, and

Edwards 2013). Performance information is essential

for evaluating, controlling, budgeting, motivating,

promoting, celebrating, learning, and improving

(Behn 2003). Consequently, performance information

may be used to learn from past activities, to steer

and control ongoing activities, and to give account

to external stakeholders on implemented activities or

products and services (Van Dooren, Bouckaert, and

Halligan 2010).

However, despite the push toward management

for results, there is still a “ceremonial” adoption

of performance measurement (Yetano 2013).

This article contributes to current research by

examining factors that facilitate or hinder the use of

performance information. An overall understanding

of these relationships is crucial in further assessing

the impact—or lack thereof—of performance

measurement on management decisions and actual

outcomes. Results from a survey of members of

the Florida Benchmarking Consortium (FBC) are

evaluated to determine the extent and capacity

for using performance information to enhance

performance at the local government level. The article

also provides insights regarding several predictors

of the use of performance information among local

government administrators.

The performance measurement and management

movement lacks a clear and coherent theory of

performance measurement and management

P. Edward French is department

head and professor in the Department of

Political Science and Public Administration

at Mississippi State University. His work

has been published in numerous academic

outlets. He is former editor in chief of

Public

Personnel Management

and currently

serves as an associate editor of

Public

Administration Review

.

E-mail: efrench@pspa.msstate.edu

Tamara Dimitrijevska-Markoski is

assistant professor in the Department of

Political Science and Public Administration

at Mississippi State University. Her research

interests are performance measurement and

management of local governments. She has

published in

Public Administration Quarterly,

International Journal of Public Policy,

and

International Journal of Governance

.

E-mail: tamara.markoski@msstate.edu

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 79, Iss. 5, pp. 699–709. © 2019 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13036.