The Balanced Scorecard as a Tool Evaluating the Sustainable Performance of Chinese Emerging Family Farms—Evidence from Jilin Province in China

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to apply the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) concept to the sustainable performance evaluation of emerging family farms in Jilin, China. A sustainable performance evaluation system was constructed based on the BSC. A questionnaire survey was used with a sample of 156 emerging family farms involved in the production of planting (grain, horticultural crops) and breeding (animal products) enterprises in Jilin, China. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)-Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation method (FCE) was used for the sustainable performance evaluation by different BSC dimensions, farm types, and regions. This empirical study revealed that the BSC is applicable for the farm sustainable performance evaluation in the Chinese context. The key is selecting suitable indicators for the evaluation index system while considering the particularity of market, resources, management, and personnel. The sustainable performance of the investigated family farms is in the slightly above moderate level as a whole. Financial performance and market performance are above moderate, while internal business process performance is moderate, and learning and growth performance is below moderate. They are facing difficult challenges to upgrade in terms of marketing and financing channels, branding, and organic production. Industrial differences existed in the farms’ sustainable performance. Farms combining planting and breeding have better sustainability, which could be a signal for transformation of the traditional single planting or breeding modes in China. The internal business process performance of grain farms is significantly less, due possibly to long-term policy support and protection with less of an emphasis on ecological outcomes. Subtle regional differences in the overall sustainable performance of surveyed family farms suggest that farm performance depends more on management than on external environment.