Design and impact of performance information systems: in search of effective use in Italian ministries

In the last years, one of the most pressing challenges for scholarship on performance management is the shift from the measurement of performance to the effective use of performance information (Moynihan, Pandey 2010). Following this call, the study aims to investigate how performance information is actually used by public managers in Italian central government and its impact (effectiveness of use). In particular, using semi structured interviews, empirical evidence is collected on the “antecedents” of performance information use: i) the characteristics of performance management systems; ii) the characteristics of users; iii) and context features. The analysis reveals that the managerial (or purposeful) use of performance information data is rare Italian ministries. Motivations and obstacles to the use and non-use of performance information are identified along with its impact, drawing policy and public management implications.