1 PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY © 2020 International Society for Performance Improvement Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/piq.21328 Composite Indicators of Company Performance: A Literature Survey Qinqin Zeng | Wouter W.A. Beelaerts van Blokland | Sicco C. Santema | Gabriël Lodewijks C ompany performance can be defned as the efciency and efectiveness of actions (Neely, Gregory, and Platts, 1995) for decision mak- ers to monitor performance. Traditionally, fnancial performance is regarded as company performance, and fnancial analysis systems, such as DuPont’s, are sufcient to measure this performance. However, it is acknowledged that fnancial performance is just one aspect of company performance. Due to the complex global business environment, company performance has evolved into an integration of both fnancial and non-fnancial indicators. Since the late 1980s, several classically integrated company performance frameworks have been developed. For example, the concept of the third generation of performance measurement system was proposed with emphasis on the adoption of non-fnancial indicator and intangible indicators (Neely, Marr, Roos, Pike, & Gupta, 2003). How- ever, the integrated frameworks of company performance are multidi- mensional, which makes it difcult to quantify them directly. According to the Glossary of Statistical Terms, a CI “is formed when individual indicators are compiled into a single index, on the basis of an underlying model of the multidimensional concept that is being mea- sured” (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2007, p. 125). Composite indicators (CIs) have increasingly been accepted as a useful tool for benchmarking, performance comparisons, policy analysis, and public communication in many felds (Zhou, Ang, & Zhou, 2010). Company performance is a multi-dimensional concept. A way of measur- ing the multidimensional performance is to adopt or construct CIs that convey relevant information into a single fgure. Various techniques for constructing CIs have been elaborated in pub- lications such as the well-known tool book, Handbook on Construct- ing Composite Indicators (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Composite indicators (CIs) are needed for decision makers to efectively bench- mark holistic company performance. Composite indicators at macro levels are inappropriate to be implemented at the company level. By a literature survey, this article identifed 29 individual methods for constructing CIs, 17 specifc business sec- tors where CIs have been utilized in prac- tice, and the motor vehicle manufacturing sector as the most studied sector. This arti- cle identifed nine problems and provided four recommendations for future research.