Implementation of performance measurement:: A comparative study of French and German organizations

This paper explores the diffusion and the implementation of two performance measurement systems with different cultural origins - the French Tableau de bord and the U.S. Balanced Scorecard - in European organizations. The objective is to examine and compare implementation of these tools in order to understand the extent to which their concepts and usage in organizations are becoming homogenized in different countries, especially in France and Germany. Based on a questionnaire survey on performance measurement, we found both converging and diverging practices. We refer to culturalist perspective and diffusion theory to explain empirical findings on implementation patterns of performance measurement systems.