Measuring research and development (R&D) performance has become a fundamental concernfor R&D managers and executives in the last decades. As a result, the issue has beenextensively debated in innovation and R&D management literature. The paper contributes tothis growing body of knowledge, adopting a systemic and contextual perspective to look intothe problem of measuring R&D performance. In particular, it explores the interplay betweenmeasurement objectives, performance dimensions and contextual factors in the design of aperformance measurement system (PMS) for R&D activities. The paper relies on a multiplecase study analysis that involved 15 Italian technology-intensive firms. The results indicatethat firms measure R&D performance with different purposes, i.e. motivate researchers andengineers, monitor the progress of activities, evaluate the profitability of R&D projects, favourcoordination and communication and stimulate organisational learning. These objectives arepursued in clusters, and the importance firms attach to each cluster is influenced by the context(type of R&D, industry belonging, size) in which measurement takes place. Furthermore, afirm’s choice to measure R&D performance along a particular perspective (i.e. financial,customer, business processes or innovation and learning) is influenced by the classes ofobjectives (diagnostic, motivational or interactive) that are given higher priority. Theimplications of these results for R&D managers and scholars are discussed in the paper.