Measuring Up in Steel: Performance Measurement and Innovation Policy in the Canadian Steel Industry

Private industrial firms have impressively improved their internal performance in the last 20 years through the use of performance metrics. This article argues that private firms can not only learn from public organizations and performance measurement, they can also profit from it. The article proceeds from the Innovations System literature and applies it to the Canadian steel industry and examines public policies directed at improving the innovation performance of private firms. The most commercially successful firms are those that effectively interact with public infrastructure and social capital. Public policies should be critically examined in the same light. The analysis finds that the Innovation Strategy policy being implemented by Industry Canada, including its Innovation Targets, are misdirected and are likely to miss the most promising sources of innovation in the steel industry.