Article
How the Balanced Scorecard Is Implemented in the Spanish
Footwear Industry
Carlos Suárez-Gargallo * and Patrocinio Zaragoza-Sáez
Citation: Suárez-Gargallo, C.;
Zaragoza-Sáez, P. How the Balanced
Scorecard Is Implemented in the
Spanish Footwear Industry.
Sustainability 2021, 13, 5641.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105641
Academic Editor: João Carlos de
Oliveira Matias and Paolo Renna
Received: 19 April 2021
Accepted: 14 May 2021
Published: 18 May 2021
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Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Business Sciences, University of Alicante,
03690 San Vicente, Spain; patrocinio.zaragoza@gcloud.ua.es
* Correspondence: cmsg4@alu.ua.es
Abstract:
This paper provides a deeper knowledge of the implementation of the Balanced Scorecard
(BSC) in the Spanish footwear industry, under an exploratory research which has been conducted
with a final sample of seven firms. An online questionnaire was developed, supported by phone
calls and a personal interview. An 18–24-month-period has been found to be enough to develop solid
foundations for a BSC. Financial and non-financial measures are presented in the whole firms and
in the majority of the four perspectives, linked by cause-and-effect relationships, showing a high
development in the BSC implementation. BSCs with a high grade of development are more likely
to identify their intangibles as well as include them in the firm’s strategy. A personal BSC has been
identified as a limitation. Although the strategy is spread out with meetings in the whole firms, it is
not known at all levels, showing a gap to be fulfilled. Strategy maps are key in BCS implementation:
they are present in the majority of the firms and show that the performance drivers reach the strategy.
Firms with a high grade of development and expectation, using both financial and non-financial
measures linked by cause-and-effect relationships, are more likely to define sustainable measures,
integrating them in their own BSC.
Keywords: balanced scorecard; footwear industry; exploratory case study
1. Introduction
There is a general consensus regarding the need to increase the current insight about
how the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is implemented in firms, by using the case-study
method [
1
–
13
]. Going further, some studies focused especially on a “particular industry”
([
14
], p. 88) and on a “clearly defined segment” ([
15
], p. 1)—although other authors prefer
a cross-sectional analysis [
16
] or a set of different sizes and industry firms [
6
]. Continuing
the debate about how to do so, many scholars stress the especial attention that small
and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) require, due to the role that they play in most
economies [
11
,
17
,
18
]; on the contrary, others try to avoid them, considering SMEs as a
possible focus of distortion in the final outcomes, using a mix of the firm’s selection [10].
In a previous literature review [
19
], no research focused on an empiric analysis in any
particular industry carried out in Spain or in any other country was found—apart from
two studies with different criteria for the sample finally selected [10,20].
Once identified as a clear gap to be fulfilled, a broad consensus in the academic
community emerged regarding the improvement of the current knowledge on how the
BSC is implemented in firms, by carrying out: more case studies [
1
–
13
]; in a particular
industry [
7
,
14
,
15
], considering it as “the best choice to reach homogeneous conclusions”
([
13
], p. 1); including both SMEs and large firms, due to the key role that the former play in
the current economy [
11
,
17
,
18
]; and, after noticing that no previous research satisfying all
these requirements was found, this research was carried out with the aim of covering this
gap and providing more and new information regarding the BSC world—being the first to
do so. Following these criteria, the Spanish footwear industry in the Region of Valencia
was selected, not only because it fits the whole items described, but also due to the key
Sustainability 2021, 13, 5641. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105641 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
