Developing SME performance management practices: interventions for improving productivity
International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management
ISSN: 1741-0401
Article publication date: 10 January 2023
Issue publication date: 3 January 2024
Abstract
Purpose
The paper is a proof of concept (PoC) intervention study aimed for developing performance management (PM) practices in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the longer-term aim enabling the SMEs to improve their productivity. The intervention was designed and deployed by a collaborative quartet of academics, management consultants, accountancy firm and a commercial bank manager.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper firstly musters a set of initialising PM practices aligned to productivity improvement. These are utilised to design a knowledge transfer intervention for deployment with a set of manufacturing SMEs incorporating some associated productivity tools. The evaluation of the intervention utilised a case study approach founded on a logic model of the intervention to assess the development of the PM practices.
Findings
The intervention contributed to a partial development of the mustered practices and the productivity diagnostic based on the multi-factor productivity (MFP) abstraction and a data extraction protocol had the strongest impact. The study revealed the importance of the three interlaced factors: Depth of engagement, feedback opportunities and the intervention gradient (the increase of independent action from the participating SME's and the diminishment of the external intervention effort).
Research limitations/implications
The case study is based on a limited number of individual SME's, and within just the manufacturing sector.
Practical implications
SME businesses will require a more sustained programme of interventions than this pilot to develop PM capability, and depth of engagement within the SME is critical. Professional stakeholders can be utilised in recruitment of firms for intervention programmes. Business can start developing PM capability prior to PMS implementation using the tools from this programme.
Originality/value
The productivity diagnostic tool, based on a synthesis of MFP and the performance pyramid, an array of potential initialising practices for PM capability and discovery of potential mechanisms for PM practice development.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: The proof-of-concept intervention was funded has a part of the Business basics programme, delivered by BEIS in partnership with Innovate UK and the Innovation Growth Lab at Nesta.
Declarations: All authors contributed to the paper conception and design.
The first draft of the manuscript was written by Oliver William Jones and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.
All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organisation or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.
Citation
Jones, O.W., Devins, D. and Barnes, G. (2024), "Developing SME performance management practices: interventions for improving productivity", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 73 No. 1, pp. 327-360. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-03-2022-0157
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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