Purpose -After two decades of research, the effect of a mission statement on an organization's performance is still unclear. In order to address these shortcomings, a research project via the setting-up of this paper seeks to identify all empirical studies addressing the mission statement-financial performance relation, analyze how the mission statement-financial performance relation is operationalized, and aggregate the findings of the identified studies by means of a meta-analysis. Design/methodology/approach -A systematic literature review procedure was developed to identify all relevant articles and meta-analytic procedures were used to calculate the effect size of the selected studies. Findings -The study results indicate a small positive relation between mission statements and measures of financial organizational performance. However, additional analyses indicated that interstudy differences in measures significantly influenced the estimates (population effect sizes of the created subsamples ranged from 0.0808 to 0.4100).Research limitations/implications -These contradictive findings stress the importance and impact of operationalization decisions in mission statement-performance research, and provide paths for future practice-oriented research. Originality/value -This study is the first to assess the performance impact of one of the most popular management instruments, namely mission statements, by means of meta-analytical techniques and, to evaluate the moderation effect of operationalization decisions on the cited relationship. Furthermore, by aggregating research on the mission statement-performance relationship, a knowledge base was devised which provides normative advice on the characteristics of a "good" mission statement.

Given the lack of insights into the micro-determinants of strategic planning (SP) in public organizations, this study uses information-processing theory and self-efficacy theory to investigate individual-level predictors of commitment to strategic plans among planning team members (PTMs). Specifically, we investigate whether plan commitment is contingent upon the fit between PTMs' preferred way of information-processing (i.e. their cognitive style) and the information-processing characteristics underlying SP processes in public organizations. Based on data gathered with 439 PTMs from 203 Flemish municipalities, we find that PTMs with a creating and planning style are committed to strategic plans because they deem SP useful.

This study draws on information processing theory to investigate predictors of strategic-decision quality in public organizations. Information processing theory argues that (a) rational planning practices contribute to strategic-decision quality by injecting information into decision-making and (b) decision-makers contribute to strategic-decision quality by exchanging information during decision-making. These assumptions are tested upon fifty-five Flemish pupil guidance centers. Rational planning practices are operationalized as strategic planning, performance measurement and performance management. Information exchange by decision-makers during decision-making is operationalized as procedural justice of the decision-making process. Results suggest that procedural justice, strategic planning and performance management contribute to strategic-decision quality while performance measurement does not. KeywordsRational planning, decision-making, strategic planning, performance measurement, performance management, procedural justice 2 IntroductionIn the slipstream of new public management, rational planning has conquered the public sector by storm (Boyne, 2001;Bryson, 2010). Rational planning is a theoretical framework of strategic management that centers on a rational approach to strategy formulation through strategic planning and strategy implementation through performance measurement and performance management (Andrews, Boyne, Law, & Walker, 2009b;Poister, Pitts, & Edwards, 2010). Rational planning has been the subject of several legislative provisions worldwide such as Best Value in the UK and the Government Performance and Results Act in the US (Bovaird, 2008; Boyne, GouldWilliams, Law, & Walker, 2004;Poister & Streib, 2005). Key to rational planning's popularity is the assumption that it contributes to strategic-decision quality in the public sector by offering a counterweight to political or intuitive decision-making (Boyne, 2001;Walker, Andrews, Boyne, Meier, & O'Toole, 2010). From an information processing perspective, this assumption is, at least theoretically, valid (Elbanna, 2006;Rogers, Miller, & Judge, 1999). Rational planning practices can inject information into decision-making processes by offering, for instance, focus on strategic goals, insights into the organizational environment, and insights into performance information (e.g. Boyne et al., 2004;Poister, 2005;Taylor, 2011).Although these theoretical arguments prompt the assumption that rational planning practices can be viewed as significant predictors of strategic-decision quality in public organizations, the validity of this assumption is debated. First, while several scholars have provided arguments for the effectiveness of rational planning practices in public organizations 2010). Second, the, albeit limited, empirical evidence on rational planning's effectiveness in public organizations has, so far, centered on performance-related outcomes (e.g. Andrews, Boyne, Law, & Walker, 2009a;Jung & Lee, 2013), while empirical studies focusing ...

The rational planning cycle of formulating strategic goals and using performance information to assess implementation is assumed to assist decision-making by politicians. Empirical evidence for this assumption is, however, scarce. Our study replicates Nielsen and Baekgaard's (2015) experiment on the relation between performance information and politicians' attitudes to spending and reform and extends this experiment by investigating the role of strategic goals. Based on a randomized survey experiment with 1.484 Flemish city councilors and an analysis of 225 municipal strategic plans, we found that information on low and high performance as well as strategic goals directly impact decision-making by politicians.

Does alignment elicit competency-based HRM?A systematic review ** Internationally, human resource practice is committed to competency-based HRM. HR practitioners and management consultants expect the outcomes of competencybased HRM to include improved employee and organizational performance. However, research indicates that a commitment to the use of competency-based HRM does not automatically guarantee these outcomes. Therefore, HR practitioners have called for academic work to enhance our understanding of the process of effective competencybased HRM. This paper addresses this call by systematically reviewing the existing body of evidence. The conducted systematic review indicated that the effectiveness of competency-based HR depends on the degree of several types of alignment. More specifically, we first identified four crucial types of alignment in this process: (1) vertical alignment, (2) internal alignment, (3) alignment of line managers, and (4) alignment of employees. Subsequently, based on these drivers of effectiveness and drawing from the HRM literature, we developed a process model of competency-based HRM. This process model interlinks the identified types of alignment and acknowledges the conditions in which this process occurs.