The Use of Multi-Perspective Strategic Performance Measures by Manufacturing Firms: Benefits, Determinants and Challenges

Stemming from the observation that organizations around the globe are now growingly embracing multi-perspective strategic performance measures such as the balanced scorecard (BSC), this study investigated the application of BSC framework, with a focus on manufacturing companies in Nigeria. Data collected with the aid of a structured-questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results from the analysis of responses from 104 adopters suggested that although manufacturing firms consider the use of the BSC beneficial, its utilization rate was found to be generally low. It was detected that organizational factors such as organizational lifecycle, size, market orientation, affiliation to foreign entity, availability of specialist skills, and business strategy explain the difference in the usage level of BSC observed among the companies, thus validating the contingency theory and extending studies on contextual factors affecting the use of management accounting innovations.

Keywords: balanced scorecard; multi-perspective performance measures; non-financial performance, performance evaluation, strategic management accounting
JEL Classification: M10; M41