A contingency approach to performance measurement in service operations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the contingency factors affecting performance measurement in the service context. The paper aims to review the literature on performance measurement and synthesize it to a framework that creates a basis for analyzing measurement practices in various kinds of service contexts. Design/methodology/approach – In order to obtain a fresh update to the existing knowledge on the topic, a systematic literature review was carried out. Around 8,000 articles published between 2005 and 2011 were reviewed and as a result 80 papers were chosen for a more detailed examination. Findings – The paper applies a fresh approach to performance measurement in services, increasing generalizability of case study findings. By analyzing a large set of studies, the study identifies contextual factors that affect performance measurement in service operations. The resulting framework acts as a foundation for further research on performance measurement in services. Practical implications – The results of this research can be further refined into more practice‐oriented framework. After further field research and testing, the framework can be linked to practical recommendations in different settings of measurement development. Originality/value – The measurement of service operations is known to be challenging due to some service‐specific features. Much of the existing research on the topic has been carried out in a specific service industry with a specific measurement need. In order to increase generalizability, there is also a need to carry out cross‐case analysis identifying patterns among individual case studies. This supports the application of lessons learned from a certain specific setting into other fields. There is very limited knowledge on the contingency factors related to measurement system development caused by service context.