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Introduction
A number of challenges caused by globalisation, digitalisation and the changing nature of work have influenced how most organisations operate and improve their performance. There is widespread agreement that performance measurement is one way to handle these challenges, and is therefore a core element of modern management in any business (Bititci et al., 2012; Neely, 1999; Pollitt, 2013). This broad interest emanates from the central management problem of increasing efficiency as well as effectiveness (Neely et al., 2005).
The versatility and ability to use performance measurement for different purposes is striking. It plays a key role in developing strategic plans, prioritising strategies, evaluating achievements of objectives and setting the stage for organisational improvements. An important feature of performance measurement, cutting across any context or purpose of use, is its potential to create different conditions for learning within organisations (cf. Bohmer, 2009; Chenhall, 2005; Lucas, 2015; Wang, 2018). The notion of learning in the context of performance measurement has been proposed in relation to a broad range of topics, such as manager development (cf. Appuhami, 2017; Lebas, 1995; Sun and Henderson, 2016), as a means for employees to understand their business (cf. Nudurupati et al., 2011; Taylor and Taylor, 2014), stimulation of problem-solving (Mausolff, 2004), and critical reflection on strategy (cf. Santos-Vijande et al., 2012; Neely and Al Najjar, 2006). Although there is consensus about the importance of learning in performance measurement (cf. Aranda et al., 2017; Franco-Santos et al., 2012; Melnyk et al., 2014), a shift towards an increased focus on learning can be seen as a key challenge for actual performance measurement practices (cf. Aragon et al., 2014; Bititci et al., 2012).
There are numerous examples of theoretical frameworks encompassing both learning and performance measurement (cf. Aragon et al., 2014; Brudan, 2010; Zhou et al., 2015). Although these studies provide valuable insights, they do not further problematise and elaborate on the concept of learning (cf. Santos-Vijande et al., 2012; Fang et al., 2016). Empirical, qualitative studies extending a deeper understanding on learning processes in relation to performance measurement practices are scarce. By drawing on theories from workplace learning (cf. Argyris and Schön, 1978; Billet, 2001; Engeström, 1987; Ellström, 2011; Tynjälä, 2013),...