Determinants of Performance Measurement Practices: Toward a Contingency Framework

Abstract- The issue of understanding the antecedent conditions that are necessary for the effective implementation of performance measurement system (PMS) is at the heart of the debate in the management accounting control systems (MACS) literature. This study intends to examine empirically the associations between one element of MACS i.e. PMS and some contextual factors, namely organizational culture, industry type, and firm size from contingency lens. The paper is based on the results of a study carried out in Iran through a questionnaire survey of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) belong to 128 companies in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). SMARTPLS V2.0 M3, which using partial least squares (PLS), was utilized to analyze the data collected in this study. The results of the survey reveal that organizational culture and size are the contributing factors in the usage of certain PMS, i.e. the extent use of multidimensional performance measures, within Iranian public listed companies. This study extends the current management accounting literature in general and previous research on PMS in particular through offering an exhaustive conceptualization of PMS. Moreover, this study sheds light on the way in which practitioners and organizations may realize those antecedents that are pivotal to their effective usage of PMS with the ultimate purpose of taking full advantage of their PMS implementation. Such insight offers guidance as to the focus required in understanding necessary organizational traits as a basic phase of the procedure of PMS usage.