Impact of the Balanced Scorecard on the competitiveness of SMEs: a systematic review of international literature between 2019 and 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26439/ing.ind2025.n049.7907Keywords:
balanced scorecard, competition, MSMEs, organizational performance, systematic reviewAbstract
This article presents a systematic review of the literature on the impact of the Balanced Scorecard on the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A search was conducted in several well-known academic databases such as Scopus, ScienceDirect, Springer, and Semantic Scholar, using the keywords Balanced Scorecard AND SME AND Competitiveness to identify studies published between 2019 and 2024, using the PRISMA methodology. Thirty-five articles were selected, with a focus on data to create an index ordered in Scopus and classified in Q1 and Q2 quartiles. These studies show a positive effect of the BSC on key variables such as financial performance, customer satisfaction, internal process optimization, and, to a lesser extent, market positioning. Thus, successfully implementing the BSC in SMEs requires contextual adaptations due to their strategic needs and specific resource constraints.
Downloads
References
Abu-Allan, A. (2024). The impact of balanced scorecard mediation in the relationship of perceived environmental uncertainty, business strategy, and organizational performance. Uncertain Supply Chain Management, 12(2), 737-750. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.uscm.2024.1.021
Amer, F., Neiroukh, H., Abuzahra, S., AlHabil, Y., Afifi, M., Shellah, D., Boncz, I., & Endrei, D. (2022). Engaging patients in balanced scorecard evaluation – an implication at Palestinian hospitals and recommendations for policy makers. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 1045512. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1045512
Andrade Arteaga, C., Rodríguez-Rodríguez, R., Alfaro-Saiz, J. J., & Verdecho, M. J. (2020). An ANP-Balanced Scorecard methodology to quantify the impact of TQM elements on organisational strategic sustainable development: Application to an oil firm. Sustainability, 12(15), 6207. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156207
Antonova, N., Ruiz-Rosa, I., & Mendoza-Jimenez, J. (2022). Water resource management in hotels using a sustainable balanced scorecard. Sustainability, 14(13), 8171. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14138171
Ashfahany, A. E., Jihad, M. R., Kurniawati, N. N., Hidayat, S., & Triono, A. M. (2024). Balanced scorecard approach to measuring the performance of a non-profit organization: case study on a waqf-based pesantren in Indonesia. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 22(2), 600-614. https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.22(2).2024.47
Benková, E., Gallo, P., Balogová, B., & Nemec, J. (2020). Factors affecting the use of balanced scorecard in measuring company performance. Sustainability, 12(3), 1178. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031178
Carayannis, E., Kostis, P., Dinçer, H., & Yüksel, S. (2022). Balanced-scorecard-based evaluation of knowledge-oriented competencies of distributed energy investments. Energies, 15(21), 8245. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15218245
Chen, N., Yang, X., & Shadbolt, N. (2020). The Balanced Scorecard as a tool evaluating the sustainable performance of chinese emerging family farms—evidence from Jilin province in China. Sustainability, 12(17), 6793. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176793
De Almeida e Pais, J. E., Raposo, H. D. N., Farinha, J. T., Cardoso, A. J. M., Lyubchyk, S., & Lyubchyk, S. (2023). Measuring the performance of a strategic asset management plan through a balanced scorecard. Sustainability, 15(22), 15697. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152215697
De Souza Machado, A. C. C., Filho, G. L. T., de Abreu, T. M., Facchini, F., da Silva, R. F., & Rodrigues Pinto, L. F. (2023). Use of balanced scorecard (BSC) performance indicators for small-scale hydropower project attractiveness analysis. Energies, 16(18), 6615. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16186615
Dwikat, S. Y., Arshad, D., & Mohd Shariff, M. N. (2022). The influence of systematic strategic planning and strategic business innovation on the sustainable performance of manufacturing SMEs: the case of Palestine. Sustainability, 14(20), 13388. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013388
Fabac, R. (2022). Digital balanced scorecard system as a supporting strategy for digital transformation. Sustainability, 14(15), 9690. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159690
Fatmasari, R. (2021). Integration of balanced scorecard and Six Sigma in measuring open university academic services performance. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 21(Special Issue-IODL), 111-120. https://doi.org/10.17718/tojde.770940
Ferber Pineyrua, D. G., Redondo, A., Pascual, J. A., & Gento, Á. M. (2021). Knowledge management and sustainable balanced scorecard: practical application to a service SME. Sustainability, 13(13), 7118. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137118
Gazi, F., Atan, T., & Kılıç, M. (2022). The Assessment of internal indicators on the balanced scorecard measures of sustainability. Sustainability, 14(14), 8595. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148595
Huang, Y. S., Ito, K., & Nemoto, M. (2023). Sustainable communication management using the balanced scorecard: evidence from a Japanese hospital based on corporate communication theory. Sustainability, 15(13), 10111. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310111
Iannone, B., & Anceschi, A. (2025). Which Strategic Control Suits Wine Family Companies to Improve Control? A Proposal Through the Balanced Scorecard in a Tuscany Wine Company of Michele Satta. Thunderbird International Business Review, 67(2), 201-224. https://doi.org/10.1002/tie.22420
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1992). The balanced scorecard-measures that drive performance. Harvard Business Review, 70(1), 71-79. https://steinbeis-bi.de/images/artikel/hbr_1992.pdf
Lin, C.-Y., Shih, F.-C., & Ho, Y.-H. (2023). Applying the balanced scorecard to build service performance measurements of medical institutions: an AHP-DEMATEL approach. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(2), 1022. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021022
Lueg, R., & Carvalho e Silva, A. L. (2021). Diffusion of the balanced scorecard: motives for adoption, design choices, organisational fit, and consequences. Accounting Forum, 46(3), 287-313. https://doi.org/10.1080/01559982.2021.1930341
Mamabolo, A., & Myres, K. (2020). Performance measurement in emerging market social enterprises using a balanced scorecard. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 11(1), 65-87. https://doi.org/10.1080/19420676.2018.1561499
Martín-Gómez, A. M., Pineda-Ganfornina, M., Ávila-Gutiérrez, M. J., Agote-Garrido, A., & Lama-Ruiz, J. R. (2024). Balanced scorecard for circular economy: a methodology for sustainable organizational transformation. Sustainability, 16(4), 1464. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041464
Michalski, D. (2024). Operationalization of ESG-integrated strategy through the balanced scorecard in FMCG companies. Sustainability, 16(21), 9174. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16219174
Oliveira, C., Rodrigues, M., Silva, R., Meirinhos, G., & Franco, M. (2022). BSC’s perspectives ranking towards organizational performance: an empirical study performed with Portuguese exporters. Sustainability, 14(23), 15979. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315979
Oyewo, B., Moses, O., & Erin, O. (2022). Balanced scorecard usage and organizational effectiveness: Evidence from manufacturing sector. Measuring Business Excellence, 26(4), 558-582. https://doi.org/10.1108/MBE-01-2021-0005
Park, S.-H., & Jung, C. (2025). The impact of informatization leadership of CEOs and executives in SMEs on business performance: a balanced scorecard perspective for sustainable management. Sustainability, 17(1), 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010032
Pierce, E. (2022). A balanced scorecard for maximizing data performance. Frontiers in big Data, 5, 821103. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdata.2022.821103
Psarras, A., Anagnostopoulos, T., Tsotsolas, N., Salmon, I., & Vryzidis, L. (2020). Applying the balanced scorecard and predictive analytics in the administration of a European funding program. Administrative Sciences, 10(4), 102. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci10040102
Quesado, P., Marques, S., Silva, R., & Ribeiro, A. (2022). The balanced scorecard as a strategic management tool in the textile sector. Administrative Sciences, 12(1), 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci12010038
Rafiq, M., Zhang, X., Yuan, J., Naz, S., & Maqbool, S. (2020). Impact of a balanced scorecard as a strategic management system tool to improve sustainable development: measuring the mediation of organizational performance through PLS-Smart. Sustainability, 12(4), 1365. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041365
Rasolofo-Distler, F. (2022). Institutional pressure and real estate balanced scorecard indicators. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 13(4), 826-857. https://doi.org/10.1108/SAMPJ-04-2021-0125
Rezaei, G., SadeghzadehMaharluie, M., Ebrahimi, M., & Ebrahimi, M. (2023). Assessing midwifery services in Iran via the balanced scorecard framework. Health Policy and Planning, 39(1), 32-43. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czad110
Rodríguez Montequín, V., Villanueva Balsera, J. M., Díaz Piloñeta, M., & Álvarez Pérez, C. (2020). A Bradley-Terry model-based approach to prioritize the balance scorecard driving factors: The case study of a financial software factory. Mathematics, 8(2), 276. https://doi.org/10.3390/math8020276
Sorooshian, S., Aziz, N. F., & Azizan, N. A. (2020). Ranking of performance measurement systems for smaller businesses. International Journal of Intelligent Engineering & Systems, 13(2), 108-116. https://doi.org/10.22266/ijies2020.0430.11
Souza Galo, R. D., Bejarano Auqui, J. F., & Ramírez Pezo, Y. E. (2024). El Balanced Score Card como predictor de mejora de la cadena de suministro de la empresa ACES Perú, 2022. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 13(3), 348. https://doi.org/10.36941/ajis-2024-0086
Vărzaru, A. A. (2022). An empirical framework for assessing the balanced scorecard impact on sustainable development in healthcare performance measurement. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(22), 15155. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192215155








