Isabella Proeller

Purpose - The purpose of this article is to improve understanding of the use of performance information in the public sector. Design/methodology/approach - The article is based on a comparative case study in the field of German childcare administration. Two cities have been selected based on the variation of their performance measurement systems. Findings - It is found that a higher complexity and sophistication of the measurement system fosters the use of performance data by civil servants. At the same time, such a comprehensive control system seems to undermine the steering ability of local politicians. Referring to agency theory, it is argued that complex data systems can increase information asymmetries in favour of bureaucrats. Research limitations/implications - Since the findings are based on two cases, the paper does not make any claims about their generalisability for a particular population. Instead, the paper uses in-depth observations to better inform and enhance an existing hypothesis. Practical implications - The results emphasise the importance of user-specific performance reporting. The paper suggests thinking of the adoption of management innovation as a temporal process where measurement complexity can be balanced over time by customised reporting. Originality/value - This article is innovative as it focuses on two user groups of performance data simultaneously. The results show that this approach adds value because observations vary based on the perspective of the different users.

Most scholars in public administration and management research would agree that there is a connection between the culture of a nation or region and the way management in public administration is structured and working ("public management arrangements"). However, to be incorporated into public management research and theory, a more precise notion about the forms, ways, and mechanisms of the interlinkage between societal culture and public management is required. A look into public management literature reveals that wide use and reference is made to the importance and influence of culture on public management arrangements - mostly, though, using the term "culture" as a short-cut for "organizational culture". Public management discussion focuses on varying aspects and levels of culture, and varying conceptual integrations of cultural aspects are found. Public management treatises stress the influence of past events and contexts for the specific functioning and establishment of organizations, rules, and perceptions which in turn have great influence on the reception and functioning of public management mechanisms. Elsewise, organizational culture - or more precisely change thereof - is claimed to be the result of public management efforts. In sum, the interlinkage between culture and public management is there, but is not systematically and explicitly incorporated by referring to adequate theory. Although cultural theory has gained considerable attention, there are still other concepts for the analysis of cultural facts that may be of interest to the subject, too.