Abstract This study focuses on the issues relating to the implementation of management
accounting systems in complex settings such as archeological sites. The
aim is to understand the conditions under which the implementation of performance
management systems (PMS) may enable cultural organizations to fulfil their multiple
objectives and the factors which play a crucial role in such dynamics. Focusing
on the Herculaneum Conservation Project (HCP) the study explains how PMS
came to be implemented having been made acceptable to all parties involved. The
Middle Range Theory as developed by Broadbent and Laughlin (Accounting control
and controlling accounting: interdisciplinary and critical perspectives, Bingley,
Emerald, 2013) was utilized to explore how the PMS change took place in the HCP,
and focus on the factors influencing this process. The findings reveal that the change
in the PMS benefited from the involvement of a multidisciplinary Specialist Work
Group. This involvement reduced the natural tendency to resist the forces of change
and increased the commitment of the various groups of stakeholders to the new culture.
The findings reveal how PMS were developed in the context of a multifaceted
approach to change, allowing us to draw both theoretical and practical lessons that
may be brought to bear in other complex contexts.