Translating social sustainability goals into performance measurement practices

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development and use of social sustainability performance measurement practices at the city level. This purpose is achieved by addressing the following research question: How do city actors translate social sustainability strategies into performance measurement practices? Design/methodology/approach An extensive ethnographic study was conducted with a focus on how social sustainability – as defined in the vision and related strategies of the Swedish city of Gothenburg – was translated into performance measurement practices and how performance indicators and assessment tools were transformed over time in the pursuit of social sustainability goals. Findings were interpreted through the lens of Actor Network Theory concept of translation. Findings Findings reveal how, through a chain of translations, social sustainability and related performance indicators and other assessment tools evolve over time. Social sustainability deviated from the original politically decided definition, as stated in the strategy, because it was transformed by the human and nonhuman actors engaged with it. Social sustainability performance measurement practices lost relevance as internal steering tools and became a means for gaining external legitimacy. Practical implications Performance measurement and assessment tools initially intended to monitor the achievement of social sustainability goals lose their meaningfulness when their main use becomes a formal accomplishment rather than an opportunity for improvement. Originality/value This paper highlights how translations which destabilize social sustainability can affect the city management and influence the overarching social sustainability aims of the whole city. The presence of many actors gives room to “theoretical” and “practical” translations which deviate the course of actions.