Balanced Scorecard practices amongst Thai companies: performance effects

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a descriptive analysis of Balanced Scorecard (BSC) usage among companies on the Thai stock exchange; and to assess the performance effects of this BSC use. Design/methodology/approach - Sample organisations were surveyed through a questionnaire and the results used to examine whether the extent and manner of BSC use are significantly associated with satisfaction with financial performance and whether higher types of BSC usage result in higher satisfaction with financial performance. Findings - Around 33 per cent of companies that had implemented the BSC did not employ cause‐and‐effect relationships. The study found no significant association between types of BSC usage and company size. There were no significant differences in satisfaction and perceived benefits gained from using different types of BSC. Also, the extent of BSC use is not significantly different between different types of BSC usage. Further, the extent and manner of BSC use are not significantly associated with all performance variables. Research limitations/implications - Owing to the small sample size, the results from the study make generalisation difficult. Future research may replicate the study using a larger sample size, testing financial performance implications with stock returns. Originality/value - The paper examines whether BSC use actually results in the claimed benefits and positive performance effects.