Enabling performance measurement in a small professional service firm Groen, B.A.C.; van de Belt, M.; Wilderom, C.P.M. Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. Design/methodology/approach We used a process-consultation type of action research design. We developed an enabling PMS in close cooperation with the employees of a small PSF. The effects of this intervention were assessed by means of document analysis, participant observation, and individual/group interviews.Findings The enabling PMS development process helped the firm deal with three challenges common to small PSFs: (1) it increased employees' understanding about how to apply the firm's strategy, (2) it led to greater knowledge exchange among employees, and (3) it enabled them to create new knowledge. Research implications/limitations This study's results suggest the type of intervention usedfor developing an enabling PMS-that has already been shown to be effective in large firms-may also be useful for small PSFs. Similarities and differences with the intervention in large firms are discussed.Practical implications Small PSFs may benefit from the approach described herein: to develop a PMS in a participatory manner. It is especially useful if interested in better alignment of Operations with Strategy and/or to better explicate tacit and create new firmrelevant knowledge.Originality/value This is the first study about developing an enabling PMS in a small PSF.

The alpha-glucuronidase gene aguA from Aspergillus niger was cloned and characterised. Analysis of the promoter region of aguA revealed the presence of four putative binding sites for the major carbon catabolite repressor protein CREA and one putative binding site for the transcriptional activator XLNR. In addition, a sequence motif was detected which differed only in the last nucleotide from the XLNR consensus site. A construct in which part of the aguA coding region was deleted still resulted in production of a stable mRNA upon transformation of A. niger. The putative XLNR binding sites and two of the putative CREA binding sites were mutated individually in this construct and the effects on expression were examined in A. niger transformants. Northern analysis of the transformants revealed that the consensus XLNR site is not actually functional in the aguA promoter, whereas the sequence that diverges from the consensus at a single position is functional. This indicates that XLNR is also able to bind to the sequence GGCTAG, and the XLNR binding site consensus should therefore be changed to GGCTAR. Both CREA sites are functional, indicating that CREA has a strong influence on aguA expression. A detailed expression analysis of aguA in four genetic backgrounds revealed a second regulatory system involved in activation of aguA gene expression. This system responds to the presence of glucuronic and galacturonic acids, and is not dependent on XLNR.