How might hospitality organizations optimize their performance measurement systems?

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to explore the use of “old” and “new” performance measurement (PM) techniques in a joint venture (JV) set up by two partners, a global hotel chain and a Portuguese company. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data upon which this paper is based was collected through a prolonged contact with the specific organizational context. Qualitative or semi‐structured interviewing is the main source of information. Findings – The paper finds that budgeting and budgetary control practices have been the cornerstone of the PM activity at the JV, where few “new” management accounting techniques are used. Yet, changes were made to the way the “old” PM techniques are drawn on and they have been supplemented with rolling forecasts prepared at the hotel level. The objectives are to encourage local managers to become more forward‐looking and to broaden the knowledge of the global partner about the future operating activities of the JV. Simultaneously, local adaptations of PM practices introduced by this partner are occurring. Research limitations/implications – The lack of interviews with people from headquarters and area management of the global hotel chain has to be seen as a limitation of the present study. To minimize the risk of bias, a triangulation of data was pursued by interviewing multiple people at the JV and at the Portuguese partner, and by discussing preliminary findings on several occasions. Originality/value – The present study provides insights on how PM practices have evolved over time in a globalized organization, enriching our understanding of those practices in the context of hotel management.