KPIs and BSC in the SME segment. Myth or reality?

Abstract

Research background: Companies are under considerable pressure to continuously improve their performance in today's highly competitive business world. KPIs have evolved as indispensable tool for assessing and measuring the performance of businesses against strategic objectives. Purpose of the article: The aim of this study is to present the current use of Balanced Scorecard systems and related KPIs in the implementation of the strategic management system in industrial companies in the SMEs segment and introduce a system of proposals for improving their performance, value, and competitiveness in the long term. Methods: The research methodology in the first phase was based on an examination of the available scientific and professional sources in this area. Used sources were selected taking into account the time range of the data up to a maximum of 7 years and in relation to the chosen research topic and objective. The main techniques used were survey and comparative analysis. The research was conducted using a questionnaire from years 2017 to 2022. Using database of the Entrepreneur's Index portal (www.indexpodnikatela.sk), we obtained contact information of 4230 enterprises. From this sample, 290 enterprises showed an active interest and participated in the survey, representing 6.9% of the total sample of 4230 enterprises. The obtained data were analyzed and transformed into a logical form of tabular outputs. Findings & Value added: Based on the research results, we can conclude that companies with more than 20 employees use strategic management systems and have linked KPIs. We also tested and proved the hypothesis of using supporting complementary management systems significantly more often by these companies. However, our research supports our hypothesis that companies that do not use BSCs do not have statistically significantly lower economic ROE. We also did not confirm that the turnover was lower in firms that did not use BSCs. On the other hand our research has shown that better strategic management systems must be built, as there is a lack of consistency between the objectives and essential performance indicators in all aspects of the balanced scorecard.