USING THE BALANCED SCORECARD TO OVERCOME BARRIERS IN STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION

Abstract

A key challenge in management is making all parts of the organisation work in line with the strategies. This is not easily accomplished. As the founders of Balanced Scorecard, Kaplan and Norton promote the concept as a tool for implementation of strategy. This thesis looks at the relationship between strategy implementation and the use of Balanced Scorecard. I ask the question: Is Balanced Scorecard a solution to strategy implementation problems? Kaplan and Norton (1996a, 2001a) present four barriers they claim the Balanced Scorecard can overcome. Based on these barriers, I have developed five hypotheses investigating whether Balanced Scorecard enables more successful strategy implementation. The hypotheses are investigated in a case study of the Balanced Scorecard project at Telemark County Tax Office. I conclude that the use of Balanced Scorecard has improved the strategic understanding and contributed to more explicit and actionable strategies. I also conclude that the Balanced Scorecard supplies valuable strategic information. I have not managed to find support for the hypothesis that it clarifies the linkage between the goals at different organisational levels. This is most likely caused by a partial implementation of the concept in the case study organisation.