The influence of perceived environmental uncertainty, firm size, and strategy on multiple performance measures usage

Abstract

The balanced scorecard (BSC) is regarded as the most popular performance measurement system in providing a superior combination of financial and non-financial performance measures. This study empirically investigates the influence of perceived environmental uncertainty, firm size, and business strategy on the use of multiple performance measures among 120 Malaysian manufacturing firms. The balanced scorecard’s four dimensions were used to operationalise the multiple performance measures. Data used in this study was obtained from mailed questionnaires sent to the top managers of randomly selected manufacturing firms. The results suggest that perceived environmental uncertainty negatively influences the extent of use of financial and internal processes measures, while prospector strategy positively influences the extent of use of innovation and learning and overall balanced scorecard (BSC) measures. The results also reveal that analyzer strategy has a significant and positive impact on the use of time-focused customer measures, while firm size has a significant and positive impact on the use of innovation and learning measures. Key words: Performance measures, balanced scorecard, strategy, firm size, perceived environmental uncertainty.