Promoting Performance Information Use Through Data Visualization: Evidence from an Experiment

Abstract

“We have all this data, why don’t we use it?” This question seems to be a constant in performance literature. Although the uptake in performance management throughout the public sector has been pronounced in recent decades, particularly among public health departments, both empirical and anecdotal evidence suggest that few organizations have gone beyond simply collecting and reporting performance data to actually integrating these data into their decision-making processes. One barrier to such integration may be the lack of visual accessibility in performance data reports. Research in other fields has provided strong evidence suggesting that visualizing data, rather than providing simply numerical displays, promotes data cognition and use. This study employs an experimental survey vignette design to test whether graphically displayed performance information results in higher intended rates of performance information use among public health managers. The results suggest that in some instances, specifically ratio indicators and benchmarking reporting, data visualization increases the intention of public managers to use that information for decision making. This study provides both practical approaches to promoting performance-data utilizing as well as opening new avenues to performance research around data value and cognition.

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