Balanced scorecards in Finnish companies: A research note

Abstract

The balanced scorecard (BSC) seems to be the latest management fashion to sweep the organizational world. Despite its apparent popularity, we have only limited systematic, research-based evidence on BSC applications. This study aims to find out how BSCs are applied in Finland and why companies adopt them. The study comprised a series of semi-structured interviews in 17 organizations. It appears that BSCs are used basically in two different ways. The first approaches management by objectives. The second is to use BSCs merely as an information system. Moreover, our findings suggest that the idea of linking measures together based on assumed cause-and-effect relationships was not well understood by the early adopters of BSCs. In explaining the popularity of BSCs in Finland, supply-side forces seem to have an important role. These results, as well as the definition of the BSC, are discussed and ideas for further research are presented.