Performance Measurement for Sustainability: Does Firm Ownership Matter

Abstract

Based on contingency and agency insights, this study examines the influence of ownership characteristics on performance measurement systems (PMSs) and outcome-based compensation systems driven by differences in organizational goals and objectives between state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) in Vietnam. The influence of ownership characteristics on the design of PMSs received little attention from researchers so far. Moreover, the few studies that are available so far only examined the relationship between firm ownership characteristics and the presence and use of economic performance indicators and economic outcome-based compensation in firms. In this study, the scope of PMSs is broader, and sustainability indicators focusing on community programs, ethical behavior, and government regulation are included in addition to economic based indicators. Analyzing survey data with the use of partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM), we find that the higher the share of the government in an organization’s capital is, the significantly more governmental duty indicators and significantly fewer ethical indicators and economic indicators are included in the PMS and outcome-based compensation systems. The inclusion of community indicators is not associated with firm ownership characteristics. Meanwhile, non-SOEs include significantly more economic value indicators, but no societal measures, like ethical, community-oriented, and governmental duty indicators.