When a financially oriented performance measurement system supports hybrid collective sensemaking: The case of a cooperative bank

Abstract

A performance measurement system (PMS) is supported by the idea that performance measurements are drivers of organisational performance. Under that assumption, scholars have discussed and tried to develop comprehensive PMSs that include both financial and non-financial measurements. Building on the specific context of a hybrid organisation and findings from a case study, this paper explores how an incomplete and financially oriented PMS in a hybrid setting can nevertheless support collective sensemaking. The findings show how a PMS is used by managers at a cooperative bank as an artefact, supporting conversational and material practices. Combined with the organisation's strong socialisation process and managers and employees' need to defend their social and cooperative identity, a PMS supports the bank's hybrid nature and leads to the avoidance of tension and conflict. That shows that the PMS presents a specific feature: flexibility in its handling and use by managers and employees. This paper thus contributes to the call made in the literature for more studies on PMSs in hybrid organisations by showing that even an incomplete PMS can allow such organisations to avoid tension and conflict relating to their hybrid values.