Performance management practice and discipline: moving forward or standing still?

This is not a research article but an opinion paper that shares insight into the field of performance measurement from both our direct observations and the views of several manufacturing and service companies from the UK and Norway. Data was collected through a survey on the adoption and utilisation of performance measurement systems. Originally started as a replication of 2000 and 2002 studies by Kald and Nilsson with the aim of assessing differences between Scandinavian and British companies, the study was extended to look more generally at the evolution of the field. The study confirmed that, apart from minor evolutions, nothing significant has changed from what was known, what was being discussed in academic circles and what was the general feeling in industrial application some ten years ago and today. Following this realisation, we pose a number of questions that we hope will influence the field's future research agenda.