Performance Measurement as a Lever of Control

With its emphasis on the interactive and diagnostic uses of performance measures, the Levers of Control framework by Robert Simons has stimulated rich research in the performance measurement domain. The framework suggests that the levers, including the two different uses of performance metrics, are embedded in complex interrelated relationships, which has led researchers to employ different empirical specifications of how the control levers work together. These specifications range from an investigation of individual levers via mutually associated levers to modeling the levers as a combination or system of controls. We discuss the strengths and limitations of each specification and summarize how they inform the performance measurement literature. We then formulate suggestions as to how the LoC-based research program can move forward, using the distinction between broad and specific theory to structure our discussion.