The balanced scorecard in The Netherlands

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to better understand the production and diffusion of the balanced scorecard (BSC) by analyzing the reception pattern of the BSC in The Netherlands.Design/methodology/approachPrint‐media indicators and content analysis.FindingsThe BSC is popular yet not transient. Consultants are the leading BSC disseminators, while on the “consumption side” the BSC tends to be interpreted differently in varying professional communities. Compared to its intensive discourse actual BSC use in praxis appears to be limited and lags intended use as strategic management system.Research limitations/implicationsUse of secondary data limits insight into use of the BSC in organizations. Further research should focus on the influence of subsets of discourse on the evolution of the BSC in organizational praxis.Practical implicationsDiscourse is loosely coupled to organizational praxis: publications on the BSC may affect organizational behavior but also reflect that behavior. In addition, increased understanding of how and why different interpretations of the BSC exist in organizational practice may assist managers to position their perspectives vis‐à‐vis others.Originality/valueThe study shows how Dutch BSC‐discourse evolves, gives “windows on BSC‐praxis” and argues that different interpretations of the BSC may be found between disciplines.