Mål och KPI i lager : En fallstudie om hur mål och KPI:er påverkar organisatoriska följder

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of how goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) are used in a warehousing context and how they influence behaviours, priorities, and perceived goal conflicts between speed, quality, safety, and a sustainable working life. Method: The study is a qualitative case study based on eight semi-structured interviews with managers and employees in a warehouse operation. The material was analysed using thematic analysis and informed by theories on management by objectives and KPIs, the SMART framework, enabling and coercive bureaucracy, incomplete performance measures, and principal–agent theory. Results & Conclusion: The results show that the KPI system is perceived differently across organisational levels. Management emphasises clear goals and states that safety and quality should take precedence over speed, while operational roles experience that tempo measures and performance follow-up dominate in practice. This creates pressure and a risk that quality, safety, and invisible work are downplayed. The effects of KPIs depend on how they are communicated and followed up: dialogue-oriented use is perceived as supportive, whereas a one-sided focus on numbers is experienced as controlling. Contribution of the thesis: Theoretically, the study illustrates how established management control theories are expressed in a warehousing context and how goals and KPIs are linked to behaviours and goal conflicts. Practically, it points to how warehouse operations can better balance speed, quality, and safety through learning-oriented follow-up and increased employee involvement in KPI-related work. Suggestions for future research: Future studies could compare different warehouses or companies and, through quantitative or longitudinal designs, examine relationships between KPI demands, motivation, stress, sickness absence, staff turnover, and performance over time.