Exploring performance measurement practices in Brazilian startups

This study investigates the influence of perceived environmental uncertainty by the manager and the performance measurement through financial and non-financial indicators on startups' performance. Our study was carried out through a survey sent to startups registered in the Brazilian Startup Association (ABStartups), and the sample used in the data analysis is composed of 103 startups. Our results indicate that financial indicators assist managers in the assessment of startups' reality and contribute to their perceived performance. On the other hand, non-financial indicators and perceived environmental uncertainty did not have influence. Moderating effects of perceived environmental uncertainty in the relationship between performance measurement and performance were also investigated. In this case, we observed that the perceived environmental uncertainty by entrepreneurs did not influence on startups' performance and significant use of financial indicators to improve decision making. However, the relationship between non-financial indicators and performance, moderated by environmental uncertainty, became more reliable for the decision-making process of strategies adopted by startups.