The Balanced Scorecard in the Netherlands; An analysis of its evolution using print-media indicators

Despite the fact that since its launch by Kaplan and Norton (1992) professional and academic discourse on the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is intense, it is not clear to what extent organizational changes are induced by and associated with this discourse. An intensive BSC-discourse may not be equated with a large amount of actual changes within organizations. This paper’s aim is to contribute to understanding the production and diffusion of the BSC. Drawing on the literature on organization concepts we analyze the reception pattern of the BSC in the Netherlands, i.e. the accumulation of ways the BSC has been received in different subsets within the media and its incidence of use in these different groups. Our results show, amongst others, that despite the fact that BSC discourse is intensive, its actual use in praxis is moderate and lags intended use at strategic performance management. In addition, discourse is loosely coupled to organizational praxis: publications on the BSC may affect organizational behaviour but also reflect that behaviour. Consultants are the leading BSC disseminators, while on the ‘consumption side’ the BSC tends to be interpreted differently in varying professional communities. We discuss these findings and their implications. Direct correspondence to Geert Braam, Department of Economics, Radboud University P.O. Box 9108, 6500 HK, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Phone +31 24 3613086; E-mail