The use of the balanced scorecard to measure knowledge work

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to question whether the balanced scorecard provides an appropriate control mechanism for management control of knowledge workers. Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach is taken to explore the way in which management control of employees engaged in research and development is undertaken. Findings – The key finding of this work is that the balanced scorecard is not in itself a useful approach to management control of knowledge workers but provides an important mechanism for ensuring that there is alignment between the strategic objectives of an organisation and the work being undertaken. Research limitations/implications – The inductive approach taken in a single-company case study has provided a rich data set for exploratory research, however, this research design limits the generalisability of the findings. Practical implications – The work provides insights into how the balanced scorecard can be used in knowledge-worker environments. Originality/value – The balanced scorecard is often reported as a tool that allows organisations to cascade strategic priorities down to the level of the individual though the use of measures. This research provides an alternative explanation of how the balanced scorecard can support knowledge worker control.