A Balanced Scorecard Approach to Strategic Performance Management in Equine Businesses

The equine industry represents a unique segment of the agricultural and service economy, contributing to employment, rural development, tourism, recreation, and regional economic activity. Despite its importance, many equine businesses continue to rely on informal management practices and limited strategic planning while facing increasing challenges related to rising operating costs, labor shortages, regulatory complexity, volatile revenues, and growing expectations regarding horse welfare, safety, and service quality. Although equine enterprises share many characteristics with other agricultural businesses, including biological asset management, seasonal demand patterns, and high dependence on human capital, the adoption of formal strategic performance management systems within the sector remains limited. This study proposes a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) framework tailored to equine businesses. Drawing upon literature from strategic management, agricultural business management, livestock enterprises, and equine studies, the framework adapts the traditional BSC perspectives, financial, customer/stakeholder, internal processes, and learning and growth, to the unique operational realities of equine enterprises. The proposed framework integrates financial performance, customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, workforce development, innovation, and regulatory compliance into a comprehensive strategic management system. The study contributes to the literature by extending the application of the BSC to the equine industry and providing a practical framework for aligning strategy with performance measurement. The proposed model offers equine business managers a structured approach to improving decision-making, enhancing competitiveness, and supporting long-term sustainability in an increasingly complex business environment.