Performance dialogue in public administration – definition and a basis for empirical comparison

Performance dialogue as a concept has not been properly defined in the previous literature and we know very little about the structure and characteristics of such dialogues. The paper fulfills this research gap by defining... [ view full abstract ]

Performance dialogue as a concept has not been properly defined in the previous literature and we know very little about the structure and characteristics of such dialogues. The paper fulfills this research gap by defining performance dialogue and recognizing the basic structure and characteristics of this kind of dialogue. Methodologically, the paper utilizes conceptual analysis and thematic literature review. The findings of the paper create a conceptual basis for both theoretical and empirical research in the area by identifying and clarifying the research subject. This identification invites theoretical studies to further develop and expand the concept of performance dialogue. Empirical studies are also needed in order study the empirical manifestations of performance dialogues. For practitioners, the paper offers perspectives to processes how goals, actions and measures are designed and performance information utilized in the public sector performance dialogues.