This
chapter addresses the results-based management (RBM) policies implemented in
Finnish universities as a part of the reform-embracing, neo-liberal managerial
idea of a ‘corporate university’. Analysing the whole chain of control, from
the government level (intentions of control, planning) to the university level
(execution of performance management) before finally addressing the personnel
level (perceptions of control), the chapter acknowledges the conflicting views
and logics of different stakeholders and the potential for confrontation among
those stakeholders concerning the different goals and ideologies reflected by
performance measurement systems. Building on an extensive review of the
literature, the key findings of the chapter indicate that the chain of control does
not function as planned, and that the perceptions and intentions of control
differ dramatically.