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Acknowledging that enterprises must systematically measure their critical performances, this book provides a "management dashboard" to help businesses identify and manage the critical phenomena that govern relationships with customers, suppliers and competitors.

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Do we really know the critical phenomena that are linked to how enterprises function and the dynamics of their relationships with customers, suppliers and competitors? Are their decision-making processes founded upon a set of performance measurements that were accurately designed and systematically elaborated? The above questions are the focus of this book, as is the following premise: enterprises need a system to measure their critical performances so they can be managed effectively; metaphorically speaking, enterprises need a "management dashboard" to serve as a navigational aid. A dashboard to show - with as few distortions as possible - the pattern of key variables that characterizes the specific formula enterprises use to face their competitive and social environment.

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Preface.............................................................................................................. 3 Chapter 1 Measuring business performances The Balanced Scorecard model..................................................5 1.1 A dashboard for enterprise management. 3 1.2 Looking for balance. 3 1.3 Looking for strategic alignment. 3 1.4 The Balanced Scorecard as a reference model 3 1.5 Using BSC: the pyramid analysis of performances. 3 Chapter 2 The Balanced Scorecard for SMEs: a circular approach ....21 2.1 Implementing the BSC: traditional approaches ....................................... 21 2.2 A circular approach to the BSC.................................................................... 23 2.3 Unveiling what is regularly under control........................................... ......25 2.4 Designing the performance measurement and management system................................................................................................................................. ...28 Chapter 3 Corporate strategy and the Balanced Scorecard .................33 3.1 Processes leading to corporate strategy..................................................33 3.2 BSC, learning loops and strategy review loops .......................................37 3.3 BSC, strategic control and entrepreneurship ..........................................39 Chapter 4 Models for measuring performances ...................................42 4.1 Measuring performances in SMEs ..........................................................42 4.2 Performance measurement and contingent factors................................43 4.3 Characteristics of the main peformance measurement models.............44 4.4 Models for measuring performances: a comparison.. ...............................50 Chapter 5 Empirical evidence: implementing the BSC in SMEs ............60 5.1 The Valbona case: implicit dashboard and BSC design .............................61 5.2 The Home Cucine case: the BSC as pivot of the management system.......74 5.3 The Uniflair case: UNIBOARD and the indicator dictionary.......................91 Bibliography.................................................................................................104

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