PARTNER ASSESSMENT AS A KEY TO ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS: TOWARDS A BALANCED SCORECARD APPROACH

Abstract

It is a key factor for entrepreneurial success to identify and to assess potential partners. The authors discuss traditional methods of evaluating cooperation relationships and cooperation partners and develop an integrative tool to assist with partner evaluation. Evaluations can tie in with the characteristics of the partners and the relationships. However, due to the lack of a theoretical foundation such checklists can only be interpreted on the basis of considerations of plausibility. Alternatively, it is possible to evaluate the resources exchanged. However, this view limits the evaluation to only one central aspect, neglecting the problem's complexity. Against this backdrop, we propose an integrative evaluation tool for (potential) cooperation partners using the formal structure of the Balanced Scorecard and discuss its advantages and limitations.