The defence performance measurement framework: measuring the performance of defence organisations at the strategic level
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Joaquim Soaresa* , Geert Letensa , Nathalie Valletb , Wouter Van Bockhavenb , Heather Keathley-Herringc & Eileen Van Akend a Department of Economics, Management, and Leadership, Royal Military Academy, Brussels, Belgiumb Department of Management, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgiumc Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USAd Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USAJoaquim Soares is an officer in the Belgian Defence and a Double PhD candidate at the University of Antwerp and the Royal Military Academy (RMA, Belgium) where he also serves as an assistant in the Department of Economics, Management and Leadership. Previously holding several management-related master’s degrees, he has served as a supervisor for several Master thesis on this subject, has participated in several data collection and experimental studies, and has successfully completed his Joint PhD training. He is also an active participant in several NATO work-groups including SAS096 on Performance Management in Defence Organizations and SAS152 on Comprehensive National Defence Systems.Geert Letens is a Colonel in the Department of Economics, Management and Leadership of the RMA and a research fellow at the Vlerick Business School. He has a M.S. in Telecommunications from the RMA, a M.S. in Mechatronics from KULeuven, and in TQM from Hasselt University. He holds a PhD in Applied Economics from Ghent University and in Social and Military Sciences from the RMA. Geert served as the President of the SEMS within IISE. He is a Fellow and past President of ASEM and serves as the voting member for Belgium on the NATO SAS panel.Nathalie Vallet is a Professor at the University of Antwerp, Faculty of Applied Economics’ Management department as well as the Faculty of Design Sciences of the same university. She currently serves as the vice-dean of this last faculty besides having other management and expert roles within the university. She teaches courses on general management, organization management and strategic management. Her current research focuses on strategic implementation and strategic management in the public sector. She is also specializes in qualitative research methods (grounded theory). She is also actively involved in the executive master’s program in public management as well as the postgraduate program in social profit management of the Antwerp Management School.Wouter Van Bockhaven is a researcher and lecturer at the University of Antwerp, Faculty of Applied Economics’ Management department. He received his PhD in Applied Economic Sciences from the University of Antwerp in 2014. His research focuses on how firms can develop innovation networks to tackle institutional and social barriers preventing the creation of shared value. He is engaged in teaching and coaching students in strategic analysis and consulting projects, strategic management, strategy implementation, PM and innovation management at various faculties of the University of Antwerp, the Antwerp Management School, the Royal Military Academy, the Artesis university college (Antwerp, Belgium) and the Karel De Grote university college (Antwerp, Belgium).Heather Keathley-Herring is an Assistant Professor in the Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Department at the University of Central Florida. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and her Master’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech. She then completed a dual doctoral degree with the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech and the DEML department of the RMA in 2016. Her research is in Management Systems Engineering with a focus on organizational change and transformation. She is a member of Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers and the American Society for Engineering Management.Eileen Van Aken is a Professor and Interim Head of the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. She is a three-time graduate of Virginia Tech, earning her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in industrial engineering in 1988, 1991, and 1995, respectively. Her research focuses on enterprise PM Systems, lean work systems, and organizational improvement practices. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), the American Society for Engineering Management, and the World Academy of Productivity Sciences. She is also a member of both the American Society for Quality and the American Society for Engineering Education.CONTACT Joaquim Soares [email protected] Department of Economics, Management, and Leadership, Royal Military Academy, 8 Rue Hobbema, Brussels 1000, BelgiumABSTRACTAs the gap between strategic commitments and budgetary constraints continues to grow, defence organisations have introduced performance management initiatives to support decision-making and to improve governance. However, introducing managerial practices in public organisations, including defence, proves to be challenging. As performance management initiatives within defence suffer from an implementation gap, strategic benefits are not being harnessed. In our study, we first exploit the results of a systematic literature review to better anchor the encountered challenges within the literature. We then apply thematic analysis to a unique dataset from twelve NATO countries to propose a new defence-specific performance management framework for the strategic level. As the framework preserves the benefits of existing initiatives while mitigating most recorded challenges, it is proposed as a new guide for designing and assessing defence performance management efforts. Thereby, professionals and scholars are provided with a powerful instrument to address the implementation gap. Moreover, the theoretical and empirical lens adopted facilitates alignment between performance management initiatives, defence policy, defence strategy, and strategic objectives. Notably, policy goals and strategic “ends” are clearly connected to critical processes and resources. Thereby, the proposed framework better supports discussions with key defence stakeholders pertaining to the gap between commitments and constraints.
Source: Defence Studies
Language: English
Subfield: Management Information Systems
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3210006857