Challenges and How to Overcome Them in the Formulation and Implementation Process of a Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC)

Abstract

To cope with the increasing importance of sustainability, the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) has been developed to support companies integrating the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability into their business. However, the formulation and implementation process of an SBSC is confronted with multiple challenges that have to be dealt with. This article associates the challenges with four steps of the process in particular: (1) the conceptual integration of the three dimensions into the strategy, (2) the selection of the architecture of the SBSC, (3) the formulation of sustainable key performance indicators and the development of cause-effect chains, and (4) the implementation of the SBSC. For these steps, the article summarizes and outlines the identified challenges, discusses techniques, criteria, guidelines and success factors to overcome them and derives research gaps that need to be addressed. Hence, the article speaks to both researchers and practitioners. For researchers, the article’s contribution is to synthesize the findings of the literature and to identify research gaps. For practitioners, the article’s contribution is to provide a systematic process for companies to improve their sustainability management and performance.