From the collective design of a Balanced Scorecard to its abandonment: organizational learning in question

This article examines learnings that come from the design phase of a BSC. The research is based first of all on a conceptual framework that tends to suggest that the BSC, by inviting to rethink the strategy, becomes a lever of organizational learning. Then, the chosen methodology mobilizes a processual approach based on research intervention and a longitudinal study of two cases of industrial enterprises. The results of the two case studies first showed that, during the design of the BSC, the multiple interactions between the actors generated a three fold process of knowledge acquisition, information distribution and interpretation of the information. However, it also emerged that, despite the abandonment of the BSC a few years after its implementation, both companies capitalized on the knowledge gained during the design phases of the scheme. The discussion of the results then shows the decisive role of the design phase of the BSC and its strategic map in the ensuing learning. It also reveals the weaknesses o the BSC and its learning facing a control primarly oriented toward a financial perspective.