The Iron Law of Unintended Effects, Again? Outcome Measures and Blame-Avoidance

PurposeThe aim of this study is to empirically explore and analyze the concrete tasks of output measurement and the inherent challenges related to these tasks in a traditional and autonomous professional public work setting – the judicial system.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis of the tasks is based on a categorization of general performance measurement motives (control-motivate-learn) and main stakeholder levels (society-organization-professionals). The analysis is exploratory and conducted as an empirical content analysis on materials and reports produced in two performance improvement projects conducted in European justice organizations.FindingsThe identified main tasks in the different categories are related to managing resources, controlling performance deviations, and encouraging improvement and development of performance. Based on the results, key improvement areas connected to output measurement in professional public organizations are connected to the improvement of objectivity and fairness in budgeting and work allocation practices, improvement of output measures' versatility and informativeness to highlight motivational and learning purposes, improvement of professional self-management in setting output targets and producing outputs, as well as improvement of organizational learning from the output measurement.Practical implicationsThe paper presents empirically founded practical examples of challenges and improvement opportunities related to the tasks of output measurement in professional public organization.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils an identified need to study how general performance management motives realize as concrete tasks of output measurement in justice organizations.

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“…These perverse effects are widely referred to in literature (e.g. de Bruijn, 2002; de Bruijn, 2011; Garlatti et al. , 2018; Kerpershoek et al.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These perverse effects are widely referred to in literature (e.g. de Bruijn, 2002;de Bruijn, 2011;Garlatti et al, 2018;Kerpershoek et al, 2016;Radnor, 2008). Typical effects include, for example, different types of strategic behavior (e.g.…”

Section: Ijppm 7311mentioning

confidence: 99%

Output measurement in professional public organizations: insights from European justice systems

Pekkanen

Pirttilä

2022

IJPPM

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“…The agency could be considered efficient since it reduced inputs, ignoring the costs that have been shifted onto citizens. If agencies are financed, or at least evaluated, on the basis of performance measure, this could lead to wrong conclusions and encourage strategic behaviors that play the system (Bevan and Hood, 2006) or simply avoid blame (Garlatti et al , 2018). Even worst, if the indirect costs bore by citizens are ignored or not computed, coproduction would posit severe concerns in term of equity, which has been a consideration and a concern in the literature on coproduction since the beginning (Warren et al , 1984).…”

Section: Insights Critiques and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coproduction and cost efficiency: a structured literature review

Garlatti

Fedele

Iacuzzi

et al. 2019

JPBAFM

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Purpose Coproduction is both a recurrent way of organizing public services and a maturing academic field. The academic debate has analyzed several facets, but one deserves further analysis: its impact on the cost efficiency of public services. The purpose of this paper is to aim at systematizing the findings on the relationship between coproduction and cost efficiency and at developing insights for future research. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a structured literature review (SLR), following the approach proposed by Massaro, Dumay and Guthrie. The SLR approach differs from traditional narrative reviews since, like other meta-analysis methods, it adopts a replicable and transparent process. At the same time, when compared to most common meta-analysis or systematic review logics, it is better suited to incorporate evidence from case studies and etnographies. This makes the method especially suited to public administration and management studies. Findings Results shed light on the nature of the academic literature relating coproduction to cost efficiency, on what type of costs are affected and how and on the meaningfulness of productivity measures when public services are co-produced. Originality/value In times of fiscal distress for many governments, the paper contributes to research and practice in systematically re-assessing the effects of coproduction on public budgets.

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“…The theme of interinstitutional performance builds upon paradoxes of performance management (Garlatti et al, 2018;Van Dooren, 2011). Van Thiel and Leeuw (2002) discuss how the performance paradox described by Meyer and Gupta (1994), a well-known problem in business firms, occurs in public sector organizations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%