RESEARCH ARTICLE
Blame avoidance strategies in governmental performance measurement
Tomi Rajala,
Corresponding Author
Tomi Rajala
Faculty of Management, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland
Correspondence
Tomi Rajala, Faculty of Management, University of Tampere, Tampere 33104, Finland.
Email: tomi.rajala@tuni.fi
Search for more papers by this authorTomi Rajala,
Corresponding Author
Tomi Rajala
Faculty of Management, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland
Correspondence
Tomi Rajala, Faculty of Management, University of Tampere, Tampere 33104, Finland.
Email: tomi.rajala@tuni.fi
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Performance measurement and blame avoidance are significant forces that shape the development of the public sector. Unfortunately, extant literature has not paid much attention to blame avoidance in performance measurement. Thus, this article aims to show how blame avoidance strategies can be embedded in performance measurement. This case study's results provide theoretical ideas and empirical examples that demonstrate how a particular performance measure––central government productivity––enabled blame avoidance. These results will help practitioners and academics view blame avoidance aspects in performance measurement.
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