Global Performance Management in MNEs-Conceptualization and Profiles of Country-Specific Characteristics in China, Germany, and the United States

While multinational enterprises (MNEs) need to balance the global and local requirements of their global performance management (GPM) practices, GPM research lacks conceptual and encompassing comprehension of country-specific peculiarities. First, this article suggests a conceptualization of the elements of GPM (criteria, actors, methods, purposes, feedback). Then, an encompassing literature review provides evidence for the peculiarities of the identified elements of GPM and their underlying explanations in different contexts. On this basis, the authors analyze the GPM elements in three culturally and institutionally diverse major economies (Germany, United States, and China). They suggest country-specific GPM profiles that consistently and comprehensively capture the particularities present in various national contexts. Testable propositions are suggested as a basis for further empirical research. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.