Perceived benefits of balanced scorecard implementation: some preliminary evidence

Abstract

Since its introduction more than 20 years ago the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) has garnered the interest of both academics and practitioners. In the ‘official’ practitioner-oriented literature the BSC’s main proponents Kaplan and Norton have touted the concept’s potential performance enhancing effects. Academics have been more skeptical, and have not found a clear-cut relationship between the use of the BSC and organizational performance. It appears that some uses of the BSC may increase performance, while other types of BSC use might decrease it. Still, research has shown that the concept is widely used in practice, more than 20 years after its introduction. The longevity of the BSC indicates that organizations are satisfied with the concept and find at least aspects of it useful and beneficial. The extant literature, however, gives limited insight into the aspects of the BSC that managers appreciate. This leads to the following research question: What aspects of the BSC are perceived as beneficial by consultants and managers? Using data from qualitative interviews with BSC consultants and users, this paper explores the perceived benefits associated with the implementation of the BSC. The data show the perceived benefits are related to the concept’s fit with the local institutional context in Scandinavia, e.g. in terms of balancing shareholder and stakeholder demands. In addition, consultants and managers highlight social and behavioral changes as a result of BSC implementation.