The effects of performance systems and management concepts on organisational performance in the public sector in Denmark

This paper explores how different types and groups of performance systems and management concepts explain the cross-sectional variations of organisational performance within the public sector. We apply a structural equation modelling approach to survey data from 318 respondents in the Danish municipal sector. We argue that links exist between different types of performance systems and a number of performance outcomes. More specifically, we explore how different performance measures such as benchmarking, employee significance, innovation, accounting models and systems, strategy execution and cost allocation directly or indirectly affect performance. In particular, our data suggests that the association between adoption of accounting systems and performance is fully mediated through both strategy execution and cost allocation. Practitioners can improve specifications for examining the effects of different measures and gain an understanding of the mediating effects of accounting and management concepts. These findings add to our understanding of the functioning of performance management systems within the public sector in theory as well as in practice.