Factors influencing strategy implementation decisions: an evaluation of a balanced scorecard cockpit, intelligence, and knowledge

Successful strategy implementation is no less important than designing the strategy, but it has long been bemoaned that managerial attention on the implementation stage is low and the failure rate is high. By interpreting strategy implementation as a dynamic decision-making task and building on complex problem solving and performance measurement research, this study investigates whether factors such as a balanced scorecard (BSC) cockpit, intelligence, and knowledge explain differences in strategy implementation performance. Using a computer-based, feedback-rich system dynamics business game, the participants were placed in a top manager position. Their task was to implement a given strategy as best they could, which meant translating strategy into operational decisions over a period of 10 years. One experimental group was equipped with a BSC management cockpit that was designed according to suggestions of the inventors of the concept—Kaplan and Norton—and carefully tailored to the strategy, while the other group had to rely on a traditional report cockpit as an information source. Regression analysis did not yield significant performance differences between the groups. Instead, participants’ knowledge and general cognitive intelligence were found to have significant impacts on decision-making performance, supporting findings from previous dynamic decision-making research. This finding is related to the typical BSC cockpit design as originally suggested by Kaplan and Norton, which seems to provide insufficient strategy focus. Finally, avenues for future research are discussed. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016