The Balanced Scorecard and virus-based change

Abstract

The dominant perspective describing the creation and spread of management innovations has been that of management fads and fashion (Abrahamson, 1991; 1996). The fashion perspective is consistent with the diffusion approach, which suggests that management fashion setters will create and disseminate new management ideas that are then willingly adopted by managers. An alternate perspective involves the virus metaphor (Rovik, 2011). Virus-based change recognizes the need for organizational receptivity to new management ideas, but also for local agency to allow infection, and facilitate reproduction and spread of the virus. Using a longitudinal case study, we trace the adoption of the Balanced Scorecard by a professional service firm (EES Consulting), which followed a trajectory more consistent with that of viral change. Rather than blindly adopting the Scorecard as a complete solution to promote strategic and cultural change, EES Consulting customized its version of the Scorecard and allowed time (incubation) for the innovation to take hold.