Results suggest that nurses were more committed to the budgetary control system and county council objectives than physicians. The impact of these differences are uncertain, however, nurses' capacity to influence primary care services may be more limited compared with physicians because of their lower professional status.
Perception of tight budgetary control by managers depends on both their personal characteristics and the financial situation of their departments. Differences between men and women, and doctors and non-doctors call for additional research about the possible impact of changes in the composition of clinical department managers on how budgetary responsibility is exercised.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise our understanding of public value accounting (PVA) by studying the use and usefulness of performance measurements (PM) as a management tool. The authors do this from a perspective in which they address the complexity of various (sometimes conflicting) assessments of performance measurement and management (PMM) by different stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
An interpretative case study using qualitative methods. The paper is based on 30 interviews conducted in 2018 and 2019 with respondents working with PMM at different levels, such as politicians, officials and health-care professionals. The study context was Region Stockholm (RS) in Sweden and its health-care division.
Findings
PMs become an instrumental tool for PMM, which led to output being promoted above outcome. The authors show that there is a conceptual shortcoming in the discussion of PVA, as the effort needed to achieve outcome-based information might exceed the ability of an organisation to deliver it. The authors address the importance of studying the interaction among different stakeholders, including politicians, the public and media, in research on PVA, as well as possible power relationships among stakeholders.
Originality/value
The authors contribute to the growing research on PVA and its call for more empirical research by offering a more nuanced interpretation of PVA activities. The authors do this by studying PMM and the nature of these activities in a public sector organisation from a multiple-stakeholder perspective.
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