IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v133y2016i2d10.1007_s10551-014-2340-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard: A Systematic Review of Architectures

Author

Listed:
  • Erik G. Hansen

    (Leuphana University of Lüneburg)

  • Stefan Schaltegger

    (Leuphana University of Lüneburg)

Abstract

The increasing strategic importance of environmental, social and ethical issues as well as related performance measures has spurred interest in corporate sustainability performance measurement and management systems. This paper focuses on the balanced scorecard (BSC), a performance measurement and management system aiming at balancing financial and non-financial as well as short and long-term measures. Modifications to the original BSC which explicitly consider environmental, social or ethical issues are often referred to as sustainability balanced scorecards (SBSCs). There is much scholarly discussion about SBSC architecture and how it can be designed to relate performance dimensions, strategic objectives and the logical links among these elements. To synthesise the widely scattered research findings and publications on the SBSC, we conducted a thematic analysis based on a systematic literature review containing 69 relevant articles spanning a period of two decades. We found that sustainability-oriented modifications of the BSC architecture are motivated by instrumental, social/political or normative theoretical perspectives. Moreover, these modifications can be mapped with a typology of generic SBSC architectures. The first dimension of the typology describes the hierarchy between performance perspectives and strategic objectives and how it is related to the organisational value system. The second dimension describes how sustainability-related strategic objectives are integrated into SBSC performance perspectives and how this is related to corporate sustainability strategy. This study contributes to the development of the emerging SBSC literature and practice and, more generally, to research on corporate sustainability performance measurement and management. We conclude with a research agenda and implications for management.

Suggested Citation

  • Erik G. Hansen & Stefan Schaltegger, 2016. "The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard: A Systematic Review of Architectures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 193-221, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:133:y:2016:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-014-2340-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-014-2340-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-014-2340-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-014-2340-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kittiya Yongvanich & James Guthrie, 2006. "An extended performance reporting framework for social and environmental accounting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(5), pages 309-321, September.
    2. Hockerts, Kai & Wüstenhagen, Rolf, 2010. "Greening Goliaths versus emerging Davids -- Theorizing about the role of incumbents and new entrants in sustainable entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 481-492, September.
    3. Chapman, Christopher S., 1997. "Reflections on a contingent view of accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 189-205, February.
    4. Peter James, 1994. "Business environmental performance measurement," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(2), pages 59-67.
    5. Andrew C. Wicks & R. Edward Freeman, 1998. "Organization Studies and the New Pragmatism: Positivism, Anti-positivism, and the Search for Ethics," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(2), pages 123-140, April.
    6. Fabien De Geuser & Stella Mooraj & Daniel Oyon, 2009. "Does the Balanced Scorecard Add Value? Empirical Evidence on its Effect on Performance," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 93-122.
    7. Heidi Sundin & Markus Granlund & David Brown, 2010. "Balancing Multiple Competing Objectives with a Balanced Scorecard," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(2), pages 203-246.
    8. Gail Whiteman & Brian Walker & Paolo Perego, 2013. "Planetary Boundaries: Ecological Foundations for Corporate Sustainability," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 307-336, March.
    9. Mary M. Crossan & Marina Apaydin, 2010. "A Multi‐Dimensional Framework of Organizational Innovation: A Systematic Review of the Literature," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(6), pages 1154-1191, September.
    10. Cristiana Parisi, 2010. "Using Qualitative System Dynamics to Enhance the Performance Measurement of Sustainability," Springer Books, in: Paolo Taticchi (ed.), Business Performance Measurement and Management, chapter 0, pages 115-130, Springer.
    11. Geels, Frank W., 2012. "A socio-technical analysis of low-carbon transitions: introducing the multi-level perspective into transport studies," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 471-482.
    12. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "Value Maximization, Stakeholder Theory, and the Corporate Objective Function," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 32-42, January.
    13. Magdy Abdel-Kader & Souad Moufty & Erkki K. Laitinen, 2011. "Balanced Scorecard Development: A Review of Literature and Directions for Future Research," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Magdy G. Abdel-Kader (ed.), Review of Management Accounting Research, chapter 9, pages 214-239, Palgrave Macmillan.
    14. Ans Kolk & Anniek Mauser, 2002. "The evolution of environmental management: from stage models to performance evaluation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(1), pages 14-31, January.
    15. Stefan Schaltegger & Marcus Wagner, 2006. "Integrative management of sustainability performance, measurement and reporting," International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 3(1), pages 1-19.
    16. Nigel Roome, 1992. "Developing environmental management strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(1), pages 11-24, March.
    17. Roman Schneider & Rui Vieira, 2010. "Insights from action research: implementing the balanced scorecard at a wind‐farm company," International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 59(5), pages 493-507, June.
    18. Cory Searcy, 2012. "Corporate Sustainability Performance Measurement Systems: A Review and Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 239-253, May.
    19. Kristel Buysse & Alain Verbeke, 2003. "Proactive environmental strategies: a stakeholder management perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(5), pages 453-470, May.
    20. F. Maon & A. Lindgreen & V. Swaen, 2010. "Organizational Stages and Cultural Phases: A Critical Review and a Consolidative Model of Corporate Social Responsibility Development," Post-Print halshs-00585660, HAL.
    21. Nikos Avlonas & John Swannick, 2009. "Developing Business Excellence While Delivering Responsible Competitiveness," Springer Books, in: Jacob Eskildsen & Jan Jonker (ed.), Management Models for the Future, pages 1-14, Springer.
    22. Hall, Jeremy K. & Daneke, Gregory A. & Lenox, Michael J., 2010. "Sustainable development and entrepreneurship: Past contributions and future directions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 439-448, September.
    23. Denise Parris & Jon Peachey, 2013. "A Systematic Literature Review of Servant Leadership Theory in Organizational Contexts," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 113(3), pages 377-393, March.
    24. Tsamenyi, Mathew & Onumah, Joseph & Tetteh-Kumah, Edmund, 2010. "Post-privatization performance and organizational changes: Case studies from Ghana," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 428-442.
    25. Jacob Eskildsen & Jan Jonker & Michel Pijkeren, 2009. "Management Models for the Future," Springer Books, in: Jacob Eskildsen & Jan Jonker (ed.), Management Models for the Future, pages 1-12, Springer.
    26. Stefan Gold & Stefan Seuring & Philip Beske, 2010. "Sustainable supply chain management and inter‐organizational resources: a literature review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(4), pages 230-245, July.
    27. Idalina Dias‐Sardinha & Lucas Reijnders, 2005. "Evaluating environmental and social performance of large Portuguese companies: a balanced scorecard approach," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(2), pages 73-91, March.
    28. Epstein, Marc & Roy, Marie-Josée, 1998. "Managing corporate environmental performance:: A multinational perspective," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 284-296, June.
    29. Penna, Caetano C.R. & Geels, Frank W., 2012. "Multi-dimensional struggles in the greening of industry: A dialectic issue lifecycle model and case study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 79(6), pages 999-1020.
    30. Ulrich,Peter, 2008. "Integrative Economic Ethics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521877961.
    31. Dima Jamali, 2008. "A Stakeholder Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility: A Fresh Perspective into Theory and Practice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 82(1), pages 213-231, September.
    32. Morten Jakobsen & Falconer Mitchell & Hanne Nørreklit, 2011. "Constructing Performance Measurement Packages," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Magdy G. Abdel-Kader (ed.), Review of Management Accounting Research, chapter 8, pages 194-213, Palgrave Macmillan.
    33. Adam Lindgreen & José-Rodrigo Córdoba, 2010. "Editorial: Corporate Social Responsibility in Latin America," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 91(2), pages 167-170, February.
    34. Stefan Schaltegger, 2011. "Sustainability as a driver for corporate economic success," Society and Economy, Akadémiai Kiadó, Hungary, vol. 33(1), pages 15-28, April.
    35. Sebastian Raisch & Julian Birkinshaw & Gilbert Probst & Michael L. Tushman, 2009. "Organizational Ambidexterity: Balancing Exploitation and Exploration for Sustained Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 685-695, August.
    36. Graham Hubbard, 2009. "Measuring organizational performance: beyond the triple bottom line," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 177-191, March.
    37. Thomas Dyllick & Kai Hockerts, 2002. "Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 130-141, March.
    38. Jeffrey York, 2009. "Pragmatic Sustainability: Translating Environmental Ethics into Competitive Advantage," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(1), pages 97-109, February.
    39. R Chalmeta & S Palomero, 2011. "Methodological proposal for business sustainability management by means of the Balanced Scorecard," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 62(7), pages 1344-1356, July.
    40. Chenhall, Robert H., 2003. "Management control systems design within its organizational context: findings from contingency-based research and directions for the future," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(2-3), pages 127-168.
    41. Robert Simons, 1994. "How new top managers use control systems as levers of strategic renewal," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(3), pages 169-189, March.
    42. Schwartz, Mark S. & Carroll, Archie B., 2003. "Corporate Social Responsibility: A Three-Domain Approach," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(4), pages 503-530, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Erik G. Hansen & Stefan Schaltegger, 2018. "Sustainability Balanced Scorecards and their Architectures: Irrelevant or Misunderstood?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 937-952, July.
    2. Chiara Mio & Antonio Costantini & Silvia Panfilo, 2022. "Performance measurement tools for sustainable business: A systematic literature review on the sustainability balanced scorecard use," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(2), pages 367-384, March.
    3. Lueg, Rainer & Radlach, Ronny, 2016. "Managing sustainable development with management control systems: A literature review," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 158-171.
    4. Stefan Schaltegger & Roger Burritt, 2018. "Business Cases and Corporate Engagement with Sustainability: Differentiating Ethical Motivations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 241-259, January.
    5. Rick Edgeman & Jacob Eskildsen, 2014. "Modeling and Assessing Sustainable Enterprise Excellence," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 173-187, March.
    6. Torbjörn Ljungkvist & Jim Andersén, 2021. "A taxonomy of ecopreneurship in small manufacturing firms: A multidimensional cluster analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 1374-1388, February.
    7. Regina F. Bento & Lasse Mertins & Lourdes F. White, 2017. "Ideology and the Balanced Scorecard: An Empirical Exploration of the Tension Between Shareholder Value Maximization and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(4), pages 769-789, June.
    8. Markus Beckmann & Stefan Hielscher & Ingo Pies, 2014. "Commitment Strategies for Sustainability: How Business Firms Can Transform Trade‐Offs Into Win–Win Outcomes," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 18-37, January.
    9. Wided Bedoui & Mame Gningue, 2019. "An integrated performance monitoring model based on port stakeholders perceptions [Modèle de pilotage de la performance globale basé sur les perceptions des parties prenantes portuaires]," Post-Print hal-02901541, HAL.
    10. Journeault, Marc & De Rongé, Yves & Henri, Jean-François, 2016. "Levers of eco-control and competitive environmental strategy," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 316-340.
    11. Harmke Immink & Robbie Louw & Amy Garlick & Samuel Vosper & Alan Brent, 2022. "Country specific low carbon commitments versus equitable and practical company specific decarbonisation targets," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(8), pages 10005-10025, August.
    12. Müller-Stewens, Benedikt & Widener, Sally K. & Möller, Klaus & Steinmann, Jan-Christoph, 2020. "The role of diagnostic and interactive control uses in innovation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    13. Heggen, Campbell, 2019. "The role of value systems in translating environmental planning into performance," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 130-147.
    14. Sascha Kraus & Janina Burtscher & Christine Vallaster & Martin Angerer, 2018. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship Orientation: A Reflection on Status-Quo Research on Factors Facilitating Responsible Managerial Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-21, February.
    15. Länsiluoto, Aapo & Järvenpää, Marko, 2010. "Greening the balanced scorecard," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 385-395, July.
    16. Roger Leonard Burritt & Katherine Leanne Christ & Hussain Gulzar Rammal & Stefan Schaltegger, 2020. "Multinational Enterprise Strategies for Addressing Sustainability: the Need for Consolidation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(2), pages 389-410, June.
    17. Cory Searcy, 2012. "Corporate Sustainability Performance Measurement Systems: A Review and Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 239-253, May.
    18. Tobias Hahn & Frank Figge, 2018. "Why Architecture Does Not Matter: On the Fallacy of Sustainability Balanced Scorecards," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 919-935, July.
    19. Ivo Hristov & Antonio Chirico & Andrea Appolloni, 2019. "Sustainability Value Creation, Survival, and Growth of the Company: A Critical Perspective in the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-19, April.
    20. Andrea Urbinati & Davide Chiaroni & Paolo Maccarrone & Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli & Federico Frattini, 2022. "A multidimensional scorecard of KPIs for retrofit measures of buildings: A systematic literature review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(6), pages 1968-1979, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:133:y:2016:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-014-2340-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.