Examining a positive psychological role for performance measures

• We examine a positive psychological role for performance measures.
• We examine diagnostic vis-à-vis interactive use of performance measures.
• We find that both diagnostic and interactive use is negatively associated with role ambiguity.
• We find that interactive use is positively associated with psychological empowerment.

Emerging evidence suggests that performance measurement systems may generate positive psychological effects, leading to higher levels of managerial performance. We extend this literature by examining the extent to which diagnostic vis-à-vis interactive utilisation of performance measures may be associated with decreasing role ambiguity and increasing psychological empowerment with positive consequences for performance. We find that the interactive utilisation of non-financial performance measures can be particularly important for generating a positive psychological experience and (indirectly) increasing performance. Our study contributes further evidence of the psychologically beneficial role played by management control systems.