On the Relationships between Decision Management and Performance Measurement

Decision management is of utmost importance for the achievement of strategic and operational goals in any organisational context. Therefore, decisions should be considered as first-class citizens that need to be modelled, analysed, monitored to track their performance, and redesigned if necessary. Up to now, existing literature that studies decisions in the context of business processes has focused on the analysis of the definition of decisions themselves, in terms of accuracy, certainty, consistency, covering and correctness. However, to the best of our knowledge, no prior work exists that analyses the relationship between decisions and performance measurement. This paper identifies and analyses this relationship from three different perspectives, namely: the impact of decisions on process performance, the performance measurement of decisions, and the use of performance indicators in the definition of decisions. Furthermore, we also introduce solutions for the representation of these relationships based, amongst others, on the DMN standard.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad BELI (TIN2015-70560-R)Junta de Andalucía P12-TIC-1867Junta de Andalucía P10-TIC-590

The Impact of Business Process Management Values on Enterprise Content Management Workflow Systems Performance

Improving an enterprise’s operations, services, policies and rules using information systems and business process management is a continuance decision-makers role. This research explores how business process management values impact on enterprise content management (ECM) workflow system performance and how business process management values can be incorporated as part of a measurement model for improving ECM workflow system performance to achieve business objectives and organisational goals. The research focuses on establishing a set of variables for the measurement of CERT business process management values and further explores the impact of these CERT values on ECM workflow system performance. The CERT values are customer orientation (C), excellence (E), responsibility (R) and teamwork (T). These values can be applied using the three round structure of the Delphi method to validate key performance indicators, which are used to implement a performance measurement and management framework in order to measure workflow information system performance. Through this process, the current ECM workflow system performance (i.e. “Now” situation) and the desired future system performance (i.e. “Preferred” situation) can be described using a performance profile development model based on the concepts and variables of CERT values. This thesis contributes to business practice studies, information systems literature and the informatics body of knowledge in several ways: First, it explains how CERT values can support decision-making by finding their impact on ECM workflow systems performance. Second, it formulates a performance profile development model, which is a decision-making process to measure ECM workflow systems performance. Third, it shows how to implement the research strategic procedures using Delphi’s rounds. Fourth, it demonstrates the quality of mixed methods as the research choice for this type of information systems enquiry. The research promotes the use of the Delphi method for the implementation of such decision-making processes, the application of the performance profile development model for scientific decision studies and the analysis of the relationships between variables to recognise other key performance indicators within business process management and the performance measurement and management research contexts

Managing from a distance in international purchasing and supply

International purchasing and supply management (PSM) teams have long faced the visibility and understandability challenges of managing geographically dispersed and culturally distant suppliers. Problems arising from inadequate monitoring and control over suppliers can be attributed to geographical and cultural distance, capability gaps, weak institutions, and supply market dynamism. With transaction costs theory as our lens, we examine how international geographically and culturally distant purchasing and supply management (PSM) teams control emerging economy suppliers with formal management controls. We use interview survey data on 339 international customer-Chinese supplier relationships using supplier perceptions of the extent to which performance measurement and monitoring practices are used by their primary customer in the purchase reorder decision and control. The results demonstrate that the cultural and, to a lesser extent, geographical distance between the customer and the supplier is associated with more extensive use of formal management controls. Also, we find the relationship between geographical or cultural distance and the importance of performance measurement is strengthened for suppliers of complex components

Developing a conceptual model for examining the supply chain relationships between behavioural antecedents of collaboration, integration and performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, review the literature on the topic of behavioural antecedents of collaboration and their impact on supply chain integration and performance; second, lay the theoretical foundations and develop a conceptual model linking behavioural antecedents of collaboration, information integration, coordination of operational decisions and supply chain performance; and third, set out operationalisation considerations. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual model with theoretical basis on Relational Exchange Theory (RET) and extant supply chain theory is developed as a causal model that can be operationalised using structural equations modelling (partial least squares) and a “single key informant” approach. Findings – Positive relationships between behavioural antecedents of collaboration (trust, commitment, mutuality/reciprocity), information integration, coordination of operational decisions and supply chain performance (efficiency, effectiveness) are hypothesised. RET provides adequate theoretical background that leads to the theoretical establishment of hypotheses between behavioural antecedents, supply chain integration and performance, which are worth testing empirically. Research limitations/implications – The ideas presented in this paper enrich the study of behavioural factors in supply chain management and their impact on supply chain performance, and may benefit researchers in the field. The paper also sets the scene (experimental design, measurement items) for the upcoming field research. The empirical part of the work will provide the necessary evidence for the validation of the established hypotheses. Practical implications – The proposed linkages may stimulate the interest of supply chain strategists towards more collaborative relationship management and affect their decisions on the behavioural antecedents of relationship formation and management. Moreover, the proposed model may help clarify how the integration of critical operational contingencies – information, operational decisions – can help achieve superior supply chain performance. Originality/value – The paper establishes a causal relationship between constructs which have not been researched (mutuality/reciprocity, coordination of operational decisions) or have been researched individually or in combination (impact of integration on performance, impact of collaboration on performance) but not in the proposed integrated way. It also addresses the challenge of lack of theoretical justification on the development of knowledge that will assist decision making in SCM/logistics and its integration into models, processes and tasks. Finally, by using RET in selecting of behavioural factors and establishing hypotheses, it adds to the body of knowledge concerning the use of interorganisational theories in supply chain relationships

Global Human Resource Metrics

[Excerpt] What is the logic underlying global human resources (HR) measurement in your organization? In your organization, do you measure the contribution of global HR programs to organizational performance? Do you know what is the most competitive employee mix, e.g., proportion of expatriates vs. local employees, for your business units? (How) do you measure the cost and value of the different types of international work performed by your employees? In the globalized economy, organizations increasingly derive value from human resources, or “talent” as we shall also use the term here (Boudreau, Ramstad & Dowling, in press). The strategic importance of the workforce makes decisions about talent critical to organizational success. Informed decisions about talent require a strategic approach to measurement. However, measures alone are not sufficient, for measures without logic can create information overload, and decision quality rests in substantial part on the quality of measurements. An important element of enhanced global competitiveness is a measurement model for talent that articulates the connections between people and success, as well as the context and boundary conditions that affect those connections. This chapter will propose a framework within which existing and potential global HR measures can be organized and understood. The framework reflects the premise that measures exist to support and enhance decisions, and that strategic decisions require a logical connection between decisions about resources, such as talent, and the key organizational outcomes affected by those decisions. Such a framework may provide a useful mental model for both designers and users of HR measures

Strategic I/O Psychology and the Role of Utility Analysis Models

In the 1990’s, the significance of human capital in organizations has been increasing,and measurement issues in human resource management have achieved significant prominence. Yet, I/O psychology research on utility analysis and measurement has actually declined. In this chapter we propose a decision-based framework to review developments in utility analysis research since 1991, and show that through lens of this framework there are many fertile avenues for research. We then show that both I/O psychology and strategic HRM research and practice can be enhanced by greater collaboration and integration, particularly regarding the link between human capital and organizational success. We present an integrative framework as the basis for that integration, and illustrate its implications for future research

Stakeholder Orientation as a Predictor of Project Success

Annually, companies are losing billions of dollars due to projects failing, and the trend is not improving. Many factors can contribute to the failure, but stakeholders are a common denominator (Keil et al., 1998; Kappelman et al., 2006; Williams et al., 2012). Project studies have evaluated stakeholder relationships (Mazur et al., 2014; Wang & Huang, 2006) and stakeholder groups and engagement (Jenkin et al., 2019). Stakeholder relationships, particularly project sponsors and executive sponsors, have influenced project outcomes. These studies focused on the interaction between stakeholders and the project team. Stakeholder theory is the premise that an organization exists to provide value to its stakeholders (Freeman, 1984). Stakeholder orientation is a subset of stakeholder theory in which stakeholders exhibit decision-making values that consider the customer, competitor, employee, or shareholder (Duesing & White, 2013; Yau et al., 2007). These vital stakeholders bring a competency to the team that goes beyond interacting with the project team. Stakeholder orientation theories have focused on CSR (Cheung et al., 2018; Erdiaw-Kwasie et al., 2017), but we are interested in the management side (Greenley & Foxall, 1997). The emerging research stream links stakeholder orientation to organizational performance (Brulhart et al., 2019; Vaitoonkiat & Charoensukmongkol, 2020). Our study seeks to understand the effects of stakeholder orientation on project performance using project sponsors and executive sponsors as our study group. We theorize that the stakeholders possessing a higher level of strategic orientation towards customers, competitors, employees, or shareholders will positively influence project performance. Additionally, we posit that stakeholders with a higher strategic orientation toward customers and employees will achieve higher customer project performance measures. In contrast, we posit that stakeholders with a higher strategic orientation towards competitors and shareholders will achieve higher financial project performance measures. Project performance measurements vary widely amongst the academic community. The traditional measures of efficiency (time, scope, budget) focus on internal standards for which the project manager is accountable. Our stakeholders have broader management accountability for performance beyond these ‘triple constraints.’ Organizational performance metrics include internal and external constructs, leading toward the organization’s effectiveness. Recently, project studies have expanded their measurements beyond efficiency to effectiveness measures (Iriarte et al., 2020). Project sponsors and executive sponsors are accountable for internal and external outcomes. This study\u27s project performance measurement will use financial (return on investment, business benefits) and customer (quality, functionality, performance) constructs. This study contributes in three ways. First, it aims to extend the project management literature by providing divergent views of stakeholders beyond their interaction with the project team. Second, practitioners can leverage this information to identify stakeholders with a higher level of stakeholder orientation to minimize one of the common denominators that plague projects moving us away from ‘doing things right’ to ‘doing the right things.’ Finally, this study applies organizational management theories to project studies, opening new application avenues for both disciplines

Small and Medium sized Enterprises’ Collaborative Buyer-Supplier Relationships: Boundary Spanning Individual Perspectives

Boundary-spanning individuals (BSIs) play a critical role in supply chain management, especially in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) where interactions with buyers and suppliers can depend heavily on just a few individuals. This study, utilizing data from Korean manufacturing-sector SMEs, explores whether cooperative social value orientations of SMEs’ BSIs influence the effects of collaborative buyer-supplier initiatives. The results suggested that the performance implication of decision-sharing initiative increases when BSIs have a high level of cooperative social value orientation. However, it also negatively moderates the relationship between risk/benefit sharing (involving financial losses or gains) and performance suggesting possible negative side-effects. However, we found that such orientation also negatively moderates the relationship between risk/benefit sharing (involving direct financial losses or gains) and relationship performance suggesting possible negative side-effects

Contemporary performance measurement systems: A review of their consequences and a framework for research

The main purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the literature on the consequences of contemporary performance measurement (CPM) systems and the theories that explain these consequences. The framework is based on an in-depth review of 76 empirical studies published in high-quality academic journals in the areas of accounting, operations, and strategy. The framework classifies the consequences of CPM into three categories: people's behaviour, organizational capabilities, and performance consequences. This paper discusses our current knowledge on the impact of CPM, highlighting inconsistencies and gaps as well as providing direction for future research

Risk assessment and relationship management: practical approach to supply chain risk management

The literature suggests the need for incorporating the risk construct into the measurement of organisational performance, although few examples are available as to how this might be undertaken in relation to supply chains. A conceptual framework for the development of performance and risk management within the supply chain is evolved from the literature and empirical evidence. The twin levels of dyadic performance/risk management and the management of a portfolio of performance/risks is addressed, employing Agency Theory to guide the analysis. The empirical evidence relates to the downstream management of dealerships by a large multinational organisation. Propositions are derived from the analysis relating to the issues and mechanisms that may be employed to effectively manage a portfolio of supply chain performance and risks