The evolution of a management control package: a retrospective case study

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 763-781
Author(s):  
Terje Berg ◽  
Dag Øivind Madsen
Keyword(s):  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Shareholder Value ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Retrospective Case ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Control Package ◽  
Over Time

PurposeThis paper examines the evolution of a company's management control package (MCP) over time. The overall aim is to gain a deeper understanding of internal and external factors shaping a company's management control package.Design/methodology/approachThis paper employs a retrospective single-case methodology where a company is followed over a ten-year period (2005–2015). Theoretically, the paper builds on Malmi and Brown's (2008) MCP framework while also utilizing Simons' (1994) levers of control framework as well as Abrahamson's (1991) management fashion theory.FindingsThe company's MCP evolved in several ways. First, there was a change from using an interactive to a diagnostic budget. Second, the Balanced Scorecard approach was replaced by a narrow, strong focus on shareholder value. Finally, the quality system was reduced from a system for continuous learning and improvement to a system for compliance purposes only.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper offers naturalistic generalization to enable a holistic understanding of the changes to a management control package over time. The findings suggest that history matters in the design and configuration of MCPs. The MCP has evolved from being balanced and interactive, resembling Beyond Budgeting, to a diagnostic approach resembling traditional budgetary control. In 2005, the different controls were complementary and used for different purposes, while in 2015 the controls solely support the creation of shareholder value. The findings also indicate that management accounting innovations such as The Balanced Scorecard and Beyond Budgeting in this specific context may be considered fashions or even fads.Practical implicationsThe findings of the paper could be useful for CFOs and other managers who are involved in the design and configuration of MCPs. The findings show that internal and external events shape how much leeway managers have in the design and configuration of MCPs.Originality/valueThe paper answers a call for more empirical studies on MCPs. By adopting a retrospective approach, the paper can provide insight into the temporal evolution of a control package.

The fate of the balanced scorecard: alternative problematization and competing networks

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tharusha N. Gooneratne ◽  
Zahirul Hoque
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Specific System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
System Data

Purpose This paper aims to report on an empirical investigation of the fate of the balanced scorecard (BSC) approach in an organization. Design/methodology/approach Building on actor-network theory and using a qualitative case study approach, this study analyses how across time certain actors attempted to build a competing network in the organization to gain support for their underlying rationales for replacing the BSC with a budgeting system. Data were collected using interviews, observations and archival data from a Sri Lankan commercial bank. Findings This paper finds that despite the enthusiastic journey with all its potentials to be a sustainable accounting innovation, the attraction towards the BSC innovation by the organization appeared to be temporary because the BSC knowledge claims that were advanced by its promoters had not been widely accepted by those involved in the practice. Such a consequence of innovation diffusion appeared to be the result of the failure of the innovation promoters in coordinating the heterogeneous interests of various actors involved in the practice. This study concludes that the BSC failed to be sustained, amid varying ideologies and interests of powerful actors across time and opponent actors’ perceived deficiencies in its adapted design attributes. Research limitations/implications Although the findings relate to a Sri Lankan case, they offer important insight into how parallel, competing networks advocating different control systems may exist in an organization, and that the sustainability of a specific system may depend upon the efforts and the relative power of the advocators of that system. Practical implications This paper sheds useful insights for practitioners on the effective implementation of accounting innovations and managing management control systems in organizations amid tensions associated with competing networks. Originality/value The outcomes enhance the knowledge of how multiple networks operating in an organization could compete with one another, with the result that one network may fall apart while another network gains prominence in the corporate landscape across time, amid varying interests of key actors, their actions and interessement devices used.

BSC and long-term deployment: an actors' perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-396
Author(s):  
Pierre-Laurent Bescos ◽  
Aude Deville ◽  
Philippe Foulquier
Keyword(s):  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Insurance Company ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Human Actors

PurposeThis paper examines the roles of the balanced scorecard (BSC) in a long-term perspective and with a large deployment along numerous hierarchical levels. For this purpose, we use a longitudinal analysis of an implementation in a mutual insurance company.Design/methodology/approachWe combine actor–network theory (ANT) with interventionist research (IVR) to analyze the interrelation between human and non-human actors. Our study is based on various materials like interviews, meeting reports, graphs and so on.FindingsThe BSC is considered as a non-human actor which influences the human actors and provides specific benefits from a long-term use, due to various roles played by this tool (a mediator role, completed by a role of translator and revealer).Research limitations/implicationsResearch based on larger cross-sectional studies are necessary to more deeply validate our results based on a single case study.Practical implicationsThis paper gives some insights on processes and on actors an organization can mobilize to maintain the benefits provided by a large BSC use in the long run.Originality/valueIn line with the ANT concepts, our main contribution is to explain the outcomes of an innovation in management accounting by the consequences of adaptation mechanisms grounded on actors, translations, alliances and trials of strength.

Sustainability reporting integrated into management control systems

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Kerr ◽  
Paul Rouse ◽  
Charl de Villiers
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Management Control System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Balanced Scorecard ◽  
External Reporting

Purpose – This paper aims to examine how three different organisations integrate sustainability reporting into management control systems (MCS). Design/methodology/approach – A case study examination of sustainability reporting integrated into MCS in three New Zealand organisations. Findings – The integration of sustainability reporting into MCS holds advantages for organisations to operationalise sustainability objectives, broaden stakeholder accountability as well as intensify interactions with stakeholders, formalise organisation beliefs and improve communication of sustainability measures internally. While frameworks such as the balanced scorecard (BSC) can facilitate implementation of sustainability reporting, some organisations may choose to fully integrate the latter into their management control system. Originality/value – Sustainability reporting is sometimes seen as an external reporting philosophy that can be managed as a separate project. The authors show it can be integrated into MCS, either entirely or through tools such as the BSC. The authors develop a framework that may be useful in future studies to locate our case organisations.

Monitoring and regulating corporate identities using the balanced scorecard

2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jai Kim ◽  
Caroline Hatcher
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Identity Management ◽  
Corporate Identity ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Measurement Systems ◽  
Performance Measurement Systems ◽  
And Performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a parallel review of the role and processes of monitoring and regulation of corporate identities, examining both the communication and the performance measurement literature.Design/methodology/approachTwo questions are posed: Is it possible to effectively monitor and regulate corporate identities as a management control process? and, What is the relationship between corporate identity and performance measurement?FindingsCorporate identity management is positioned as a strategically complex task embracing the shaping of a range of dimensions of organisational life. The performance measurement literature likewise now emphasises organisational ability to incorporate both financial and “soft” non‐financial performance measures. Consequently, the balanced scorecard has the potential to play multiple roles in monitoring and regulating the key dimensions of corporate identities. These shifts in direction in both fields suggest that performance measurement systems, as self‐producing and self‐referencing systems, have the potential to become both organic and powerful as organisational symbols and communication tools. Through this process of understanding and mobilising the interaction of both approaches to management, it may be possible to create a less obtrusive and more subtle way to control the nature of the organisation.Originality/valueThis paper attempts the theoretical and practical fusion of disciplinary knowledge around corporate identities and performance measurement systems, potentially making a significant contribution to understanding, shaping and managing organisational identities.

The balanced scorecard and the construction of a management control discourse

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 466-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Will Seal ◽  
Linna Ye
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Organizational Action ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to synthesise a pragmatic constructivist view of management control and a critical discourse perspective on organizational action. These theories are deployed to build a conceptual framework that can be used to interpret the construction of a management control discourse in specific empirical situations. The framework is deployed to show how, in a particular instance, the balanced scorecard (BSC) can be seen as impacting on organizational action and success/failure. Design/methodology/approach – The paper develops a theoretical framework for management control which is used to interpret a case study of a BSC implementation in a major bank. Findings – The paper reports on a case study of a major bank where the BSC changed actors’ perceptions and actions. Although the bank avoided some of the worst excesses of pre-Credit Crunch delinquency, other problems such as misselling suggest that the BSC’s impact on organizational success/failure was ambiguous. The BSC may have improved organizational coordination but long-standing values based on a bonus culture contributed to long-term commercial problems. Research limitations/implications – With mainstream researchers on the BSC lacking a conceptual basis that explains the communicative impact of the BSC and interpretive researchers focusing on the role of rhetoric in spreading the BSC amongst practitioners, then the conceptual framework in this paper suggests a way of synthesising mainstream and interpretive research on the BSC. Originality/value – The originality of the paper lies in its application of pragmatic constructivism and critical discourse analysis to interpret and explain the impact of the BSC in a particular organizational setting.

BSC inside a strategic management control package

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-132
Author(s):  
Nathalie Bénet ◽  
Aude Deville ◽  
Gerald Naro
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Management ◽  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Strategic Alignment ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategy Map ◽  
Control Package

PurposeKaplan and Norton proposed the strategy map as a way to overcome the weaknesses of the balanced scorecard (BSC), but this approach may not be enough. The purpose of this paper is to present a strategic management control package composed of three systems from strategic management and management control. This conceptual approach operationalizes strategic alignment, which is the core interest of the BSC.Design/methodology/approachThe rationale for this research is derived from the literatures on business models (BMs), the BSC and management control packages. The authors first identified gaps in the BSC literature, which has underlined the BSC’s insufficient connection to strategy, and the strategic literature, which has criticized the BM as being too conceptual. The authors propose to fill these gaps through contributions from the management control package literature.FindingsThe findings are in line with the current literature on the interdependencies of management control systems. In response to the criticism of the BSC because of its weak strategic foundations, the authors provide a framework comprising three management systems: the BM, the strategy map and the BSC. This framework ultimately promotes two feedback loops that provide a dynamic view of the reciprocal influences of the BSC and strategy.Research limitations/implicationsSeveral authors note that the BSC suffers from a lack of conceptualization. The underlying assumptions and the conceptual and empirical validity of the cause-and-effect relationships are particularly questioned. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to overcome the criticism linked to the “low” strategic alignment of the strategy map, and then of the BSC, by proposing a conceptual framework based on a package including three management systems: the BSC, the strategy map and the BM. A major limit lies in the purely conceptual dimension of this research, and it will be interesting to empirically investigate the conceptual package through longitudinal case studies.Practical implicationsThe authors propose guidelines to develop a strategically aligned BSC through a three-step operationalization process to achieve a non-linear strategic management control. Moreover, the authors suggest empirical research avenues to address the weaknesses of Kaplan and Norton’s BSC and to enhance its connection to strategy through an integrated strategic management control package that includes a BM.Originality/valueThis paper adds value by proposing a package of management systems that includes both strategic management and management control perspectives. The authors, therefore, offer a way to bridge the gap between these research streams and highlight the interest of recent developments in the literature regarding the management control package.

Implementing the Value Scorecard

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 234-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Town
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
It Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Unique Framework ◽  
The University

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of the implementation and use of the Value Scorecard in a university library. The Value Scorecard seeks to articulate the full value of a library through a four dimensional matrix populated with data, evidence and narrative. Design/methodology/approach – The study covers two years of collection of data and evidence to populate the Value Scorecard at the University of York, UK. This is action research and development. Findings – The paper describes the success of the implementation of the framework across a broad university service including library, archives and IT services. The reporting template is outlined and the availability of relevant measures for populating each dimension are discussed, together with developments in the concepts of each dimension since the original paper on the scorecard. The paper reflects on the advances in the understanding and practice of performance measurement and assessment in libraries that the Value Scorecard offers. The strengths and omissions of other pre-existing frameworks, including the Balanced Scorecard, are discussed and absorbed into the value framework. The application of the Value Scorecard offers a practical and successful framework for library performance measurement and advocacy in a dynamic and changing landscape. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of the research are those generally applying to a single case experience. Practical implications – Nothing arises from the study to suggest that other libraries could not apply this framework, as it encompasses other previous frameworks and allows for local variations and circumstances. Some elements of the framework lack full measurement methods, and this is discussed. Originality/value – The originality and value of the paper is that it provides a unique framework for measurement of all dimensions of activity and value in an academic research library, and one that can be tailored to local requirements.

The use of the balanced scorecard to measure knowledge work

2015 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 590-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas John Wake
Keyword(s):  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Knowledge Workers ◽  
Knowledge Worker ◽  
Knowledge Work ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Balanced Scorecard

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to question whether the balanced scorecard provides an appropriate control mechanism for management control of knowledge workers. Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach is taken to explore the way in which management control of employees engaged in research and development is undertaken. Findings – The key finding of this work is that the balanced scorecard is not in itself a useful approach to management control of knowledge workers but provides an important mechanism for ensuring that there is alignment between the strategic objectives of an organisation and the work being undertaken. Research limitations/implications – The inductive approach taken in a single-company case study has provided a rich data set for exploratory research, however, this research design limits the generalisability of the findings. Practical implications – The work provides insights into how the balanced scorecard can be used in knowledge-worker environments. Originality/value – The balanced scorecard is often reported as a tool that allows organisations to cascade strategic priorities down to the level of the individual though the use of measures. This research provides an alternative explanation of how the balanced scorecard can support knowledge worker control.

Balanced scorecard and controllability at the level of middle managers – the case of unintended breaches

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 516-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Jakobsen ◽  
Rainer Lueg
Keyword(s):  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Intuitive Appeal ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Constructivist Position ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – This paper aims to analyse how the inherent design of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) violates the controllability principle. The management control literature provides convincing examples of actors who breach controllability without intention. This discussion was extended by the example of the BSC. This paper focusses on the breaches that occur when actors lack the awareness or the skills to re-enforce controllability. Design/methodology/approach – Taking a pragmatic-constructivist position, analytical and empirical evidence was included on controllability to analyse the normative literature on the BSC. Findings – It was found that the BSC causes several unintended breaches of the controllability principle at the level of middle managers, both ex ante (control rationale) and ex post (fairness rationale). These breaches are not only situational or induced by how managers in the field design a BSC. They appear to be inherent in the BSC due to the way Kaplan and Norton have conceptualised it. Practical implications – Practitioners are alerted that the intuitive appeal of popular management fashions such as the BSC covers their conceptual flaws. It was also proposed that failed implementations and dysfunctional applications can be due to the inherent characteristics of the concepts themselves. Originality/value – This paper contributes by uncovering the unintended violations of the controllability principle by the inherent characteristics. The authors suggest using our conceptual contribution to conduct empirical research on the issues of controllability and management control systems in general. Thereby, the theory-based discussion on the BSC is advanced (Nørreklit, 2000, 2003; Nørreklit et al., 2012a).

Balanced Scorecard in the strategic planning of a construction company

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Roberth Frias ◽  
Maria Medina
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Strategic Management ◽  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Organization Theory ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
The Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Construction Company ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
The Impact

This research focused on the strategic management tool Balanced Scorecard and strategic planning, as a guide to guide the management of companies, allowing communication and the functionality of the strategy using KPIs that allow to identify, maintain control and increase efficiency and the achievement of optimal results. For the deductive hypothetical analysis, the specific factors that affect business management performance were grouped into two variables: Balanced Scorecard and Strategic Planning. The objective of the work was to demonstrate the impact of the Balanced Scorecard in the strategic planning of a construction company. In order to support the research, the following theories were approached: the Financial Theory, the Economic Theory of the Company, the Transaction Costs, the Network Theory, the Organization Theory, the Dependence on Resources, the Strategic Management Theory and the Business Diagnosis Theory. The result obtained confirms the hypothesis that there is a significant incidence of the Balanced Scorecard in the strategic planning of construction companies. In conclusion, the construction company has obtained significant improvements in the results in each of the indicators evaluated with the implementation of the Balanced Scorecard, demonstrating improvements in their management results, affirming that there is better performance and management control allowing them to achieve the organizational objectives set.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document