Shaping Culture through Performance Governance : Studies on infrastructure service delivery and local government sustainability

Abstract

This dissertation considers the relationship between performance governance and culture. Earlier literature clearly recognizes that culture conditions performance governance, but the influence of performance governance on culture seems unclear, even though its implications are hinted at. In this thesis, culture is conceptualized broadly, while the focus is on its role in organizational aims and processes. Performance governance is understood as the coordination of interorganizational bargaining networks by incorporating and using performance information. As a part of coordination, performance governance includes the design and determination of performance measures that define what is valuable.

This is an article-based dissertation consisting of four substudies. The first two consider infrastructure service delivery and the last two consider local government sustainability. The third substudy has a quantitative approach, whereas the others have qualitative approaches. The first and second substudies utilize semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, the third substudy is document research using content analysis and the fourth substudy is a holistic multiple case study using multiple data sources and thematic analysis. The first substudy examines how culture conditions performance governance, leading to value co-destruction. The second substudy shows the design of a performance information framework that addresses what is valuable. The third substudy considers performance governance instrument use and represents the status of culture. The fourth substudy investigates how performance governance shapes culture.

Synthetizing the literature and the four substudies, this dissertation presents the relationship between performance governance and culture through a conceptual-theoretical framework. Based on mechanism-based thinking, the relationship appears to be a developmental explanation, which means that causal influences cyclically change the causal setting: culture conditions performance governance, whereas performance governance shapes culture.

This work clarifies the relationship between performance governance and culture, while stressing the role values and governance perspective. It highlights the need for further research into 1) the roles involved in working with performance information, 2) performance governance and values and 3) the promotion of sustainability.