Adoption and Implementation of Balanced Scorecard in Ghana: The Case of Selected Banks in Ghana

ABSTRACT

This study sought to examine adoption and implementation of balanced (BSC) scorecard at corporate level within Ghana‘s banking sector. The study specifically examined the motivations for implementing BSC, the extent to which the BSC are balanced in the selected entities in terms of the four perspectives and the dimensions of the BSC usage to selected entities. The study employed the constructivism philosophical framework to knowledge creation. Following from above, the study employed a multiple case study (with data drawn from two different kinds of documentary evidence that is survey data and interview data) with a case each from the four quartile divisions among the twenty seven banks within the Ghanaian banking sector. The study revealed five basic motivations for the adoption of balanced scorecard namely: competition, prestigious national awards, and external directive from parent company, special improvement initiatives and benchmarking.

The implementation motivations are underpinned by the tenets of diffusion and institutional theory, mainly competitive/efficient choice, fashion and fad/ mimetic isomorphism and forced selection/ coercive isomorphism theories. The study also discovered that all the cases do satisfy the requirements of Type III typology. The study also revealed that, the cases mainly use the BSC for decision support, work integration and customer service. The study is bias towards the banking industry. This limits the generalizability of the results. The findings of the study provide an insight into how new PMS can be institutionalised within an industry. It also contribute to literature by offering a unique insight of BSC adoption and implementation in a small developing country.