Performance measurement and management in building companies

Abstract The literature on performance measurement and management shows the embryonic stage of these processes in the construction industry. Thus, this paper aimed to evaluate the Performance Measurement and Management (PMM) process in the construction sector. A multiple case study in three construction companies showed that the performance measurement systems (PMS) in use in these companies are focused on operational aspects of performance measurement, and are unable to promote their integrated management for more strategic purposes, such as influencing the behaviour of the actors and providing learning and improvement, fundamental elements to the successful of any organisation. Thus, this study contributes to construction management literature by expanding and deepening the discussion on the differences between measuring and managing performance, offering new ways to interpret the PMM, based on different concepts emerging from administrative and economic disciplines. This project also contributes by offering empirical evidence that reinforces the slow evolution of this subject in the construction sector.