Applying the Balanced Scorecard and the Delphi Method to Determine the Key Performance Factors for the Banking Industry in Iran

Abstract

The lack of having an anchored, strategy management performance infrastructure prevents leaders from evaluating the performance strengths of the organization’s strategic priorities. Evaluating the strategic performance of an organization is critical to the success and sustainability of a high-performing organization. The key is to evaluate the strategic performance of an organization using a strategy management performance system that consistently provides leaders with valid information to make informed strategic decisions. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is one of the leading strategy management performance systems that provides the infrastructure for evaluating the strategic performance of an organization. The BSC is a multidimensional strategy management performance system that links tangible financial assets with intangible nonfinancial assets in a cause-and-effect logic to evaluate the success of a strategy. The aim of this study was to identify the objectives and key performance factors (KPFs) for the banking industry in Iran. The population for this study consisted of 20 experts from multiple banks in Iran. A purposive judgmental ample was used to arrive at the sample of 20 participants. A questionnaire was used to collect the data in the study. The Delphi method was employed as the analysis mechanism to arrive at a consensus. The study concluded that the success of the banks in Iran depends on four financial perspective objectives and four KPFs; three stakeholder perspective objectives and five KPFs; three internal process perspective objectives and six KPFs; and three learning and growth perspective objectives and three KPFs. The identified objectives and KPFs are characterized as the strategic performance priorities for success in the Iranian banking industry.