Determinants of successful adoption of the Balanced Scorecard in Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises

Vietnam is well known as a country in successful transition to a market economy with a high concentration of Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). SMEs contributed significantly to overcoming the “shocks” associated with the transition from a centrally planned to a market-oriented economy with the collapse of the socialist bloc in Eastern Europe. Although they are major contributors to Vietnamese socio-economic success, SMEs in Vietnam have to deal with many difficulties in their survival and development. To solve these problems, SMEs need to understand how their business is operating, identify where improvements should be made, and have a clear strategic planning process. Applying a performance measurement system provides SMEs with a more complete view of an organization through the different measures and perspectives that link together and enable the development of a dynamic system that monitors both internal and external contexts and supports the organization’s objectives. The Balanced Scorecard introduced by Kaplan and Norton in 1992 is a relevant tool that provides SMEs with a framework for dealing with today’s business environment. There have been extensive calls for research into the use of the Balanced Scorecard by SMEs in different national contexts.