Balancing creativity and organisational performance in an advertising agency network: a case study

While interest in international advertising campaigns continues to attract considerable research interest, the management of advertising agencies internationally has been largely overlooked. In response, the current research examines the interaction between creativity and performance measurement systems in an international advertising agency network (China, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia). The notion of a `performance carousel´, where different performance measurement systems are favoured across location and time, represents a significant contribution, explaining how a unified culture of creativity could emerge despite regional variations in performance measurement. The performance carousel enhances Kaplan and Norton’s more static Balanced Scorecard, in favour of an equifinal approach in which different performance measures (profit, creative awards, staff and client satisfaction) can be emphasised and yet still reflect the same underlying organisational logic and culture of creativity.