Re-examining the cause-and-effect principle of the Balanced Scorecard *

Abstract

There seems to be a wide variety of methods in how organizations apply the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) concept in practice and how it is interpreted in the literature. Consequently, it is not quite clear what the core features of BSC, or its variants, are and if all its variants are equally effective in producing expected outcomes. Moreover, the usefulness of BSC as a practical theory has been questioned by referring to some of its assumptions, especially the cause-and-effect relationship (Norreklit, 2000, 2003). In this paper we re-examine the cause-and-effect principle, which can be seen as one of the corner-stones of the BSC. Further, we outline alternative ways to apply cause-and-effect in practice, both analytically and organizationally. To facilitate research on BSC, we discuss some of the contingencies that may limit or support the usefulness of the causeand-effect concept. These include strategy, organization, environment and communication related issues.