Performance-measurement systems as actors and boundary objects: a sociomaterial perspective to the provision of prison services
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The paper explores the performance-measurement systems (PMSs) used in the provision of prison services (and their non-human agent role) to reflect on: the role PMSs play in inter-organisational relationships; the boundary objects that connect human and non-human actors across inter-organisational levels; and what affordances such connections generate. The study focuses on the English prison sector, drawing on document analysis and interviews. The findings show that PMSs represent both active non-human agents and boundary objects. The positioning of the actors involved can be seen as a second-order boundary object. Moreover, PMSs can generate affordances that go beyond the initially-intended purposes.
Source: Public Management Review
Authors: Noel Hyndman, Mariannunziata Liguori
Institutions: Queen's University, Queens University, Durham University
Language: English
Subfield: Public Administration
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7204514560
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