Performance measurement and management: a literature review and a research agenda

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature in the field of performance measurement and management (PMM) for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large companies and propose a research agenda for the future.

This paper provides an update of Neely's work “The evolution of performance measurement research” The literature review has been carried out by using two different methodologies. Citation/co‐citation analysis has been used to explore “performance measurement” (PM) literature, while a chronological review of main frameworks/models developed both for large and small companies is presented in order to highlight “PMM” literature.

The paper analyzes the literature on the field and carries out the most cited works and the common characteristics of them based on the key words used. The results of the literature review reveal a certain maturity of the literature related to large companies and a significant lack of PMM literature for SMEs. Finally the paper argues the development and evolution of the research field that is now entering a phase of new directions. These new directions can be conceptualized in three ways – by context, by theme and by challenge.

The research presented in the paper is limited to work that is referred directly with performance measurement and management. Related research – such as literature on management control and accounting – has not been considered, even if future researches could include it.

The paper extends Neely's work under two dimensions: the research field evolution from 2005 to 2008 and the investigation of the “performance management” dimension. The paper will be valuable to scholars working in the field of business performance measurement and management, interested in the literature evolution and in identifying future areas of research.