Held together by the bark: performance measurement and management as propagated by industry analysts

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore what is propagated as performance measurement and management (PMM) by industry analysts. The rationale for targeting industry analysts is that this group constitutes a previously largely overlooked actor within the supply of management ideas. The study utilises empirical material in the form of proprietary reports marketed and sold by one of the largest industry analyst firms, through a dual analysis of history and content. As the findings show, there is a rich plethora of PMM incarnations stemming from one particular industry analyst report. Utilising rhetorical analysis, this piece of research is found to be lacking in sound argumentation opening up for significant doubts in terms of the validity of the subsequent incarnations. These findings are discussed in terms of implications for both research and practice.