Performance management has become a key element in modern public sector governance. As a result, many developing countries have introduced it as a means to measure organizational and individual efficiency in order to ensure that public sector organizations meet the needs of the public. However, the implementation of performance management systems in many of these countries has been affected by a number of institutional and capacity constraints such as culture, institutional fragmentation, public apathy, and leadership support, thus making it difficult for many of them to realize the `benefits' of such a system. This article examines these constraints with a focus on Ghana. Utilizing information obtained from interviews of senior bureaucrats and chief executive officers of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), it is argued that without a critical analysis of these constraints, performance management no matter how attractive it may be will not achieve the desired results in developing countries.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This paper seeks to extend the analysis of performance management regimes by Bouckaert and Halligan to other countries in order to contribute to the developing theory of forms and challenges in public sector performance management. Design/methodology/approach -The state of performance management and the context in which it has evolved is assessed in seven different countries using dimensions drawn from Bouckaert and Halligan's work along with elements from earlier work by Pollitt and Bouckaert. These are summarized in a table and comparisons made to generate additional insights into the factors that influence the shape and speed of public management evolution. Findings -The paper finds that the Bouckaert and Halligan framework for analyzing public sector performance management is useful, albeit with some modifications. Specifically, it finds that administrative culture is a key factor influencing the speed of reform and that the attitude of elites (politicians and civil servants, in most cases) is also a vital piece of the puzzle that was not included in Bouckaert and Halligan, but did appear in the earlier framework of Pollitt and Bouckaert. It also finds evidence that economic and political crises occurring together accelerate the introduction of integrated performance management systems, but that trust in government does not appear to be a significant factor. Finally, the paper observes that, absent political crisis/commitment, governments will prioritise "external" performance measures such as customer service, participation and transparency objectives over "internal" performance measures such as financial, staff management and whole of government reporting. Originality/value -The countries studied provide a rare insight into lesser-known performance management regimes and the use of the Bouckaert and Halligan framework allows for comparisons to earlier (and future) research. The findings will be of interest to scholars in public administration reform and performance management.

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In the past 30 years, performance management has become an important aspect of attempts to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of public organizations. Fostering or institutionalizing a performance-driven culture in public organizations is a daunting task, but robust organization-wide performance management systems would have tremendous leverage in the organization. This paper examines Ghana's attempt to use legislation to institutionalize a performance management system in public organizations. Such attempts, it is argued, may force the establishment of a performance management system but would in no way lead to the institutionalization of a performance management culture due to problems associated with the processes of institutionalization. The article thus illustrates the problem associated with the use of legislation to foster performance management in organizations. It looks at a number of avenues that must be pursued to achieve this objective and adds to the voices calling for new ways of ensuring a performance-driven culture in public organizations.

Public sector reforms continue to preoccupy governments all over the world, compelled by the need to ‘get the state right’ through better policy development and implementation. Developing countries see this as the path to a developmental state. This article examines Ghana's quest to build such a state through its new public sector reforms, originally hailed in hyperbolic terms. We argue that the rejection of a top‐down and bottom‐up synergy in favour of an exclusively top‐down approach dooms this effort to failure.