Managing nonprofit incubators: the use of a boundary object as an interactive lever of control

Organizational performance depends increasingly on the ability to carry out an internal strategy with appropriate management systems. These systems drive strategy renewal and guide the formalization process. Strategic management is particularly important in the inter-organizational context because the stakeholders do not share the same representations or interests. This article focuses on inter-organizational management systems to foster dialogue and aid stakeholders in addressing their representations of performance. To this aim, we conducted an intervention study during which we participated in the creation and implementation of a balanced scorecard in five incubators over the course of a little more than a year. We then used the concept of boundary objects to analyze the translation process the tool had undergone in each organization. The major contribution of this paper is the demonstration that the balanced scorecard possesses characteristics of a boundary object, which make it an effective lever of interactive control at the inter-organizational level. The key characteristic in this case was its plasticity, as the actors from several organizations were able to engage in strategic thinking over the course of meetings in which they exchanged information on their respective practices. The balanced scorecard thus operated at the interface between different stakeholders who had to collaborate without the establishment of prior consensus.