Performance measurement of R&D and new product development (NPD) activities is gainingincreased importance because the effectiveness and efficiency of these activities not onlydetermine a firm’s competitive advantage, but its very survival. The literature is rich ondescriptions of measurement techniques and methods, but pays less attention to the actual useof the performance results in operations and decision-making. In this paper, reporting resultsfrom interviews conducted in three large companies in the electronics industry, we validate andfurther specify key areas of use and impact of R&D and NPD performance measurementresults including ensuring better coherence and relevance of product portfolios, reorientingprojects before failure, deciding on corrective actions, supporting the launching decision,enhancing staff motivation, and facilitating well-balanced decision-making. We identifyimplications for practice and research and propose a framework for future empirical workfocusing on the interplay between the operation of the performance measurement system, theuse and the impacts of measurement results.