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The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to design and implement a performance management system using third‐generation Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and statistical methods in an Iranian black carbon producer (Company A) to achieve its main strategy and vision; and second, to compare and evaluate some strategic measures of the company against those of a leading company in this industry in Iran (Company B) and those of a Thai company (Company C) to identify any possible gaps, so that the management of Company A can move toward filling such gaps.

The strategic objectives of the company as well as the measures of each perspective of the BSC were determined. In addition to studying all related documents of the company and conducting interviews, two self‐administered questionnaires were designed and distributed amongst a total of 24 managers or experts in the company. Statistical methods were used to select strategic objectives and measures.

This paper illustrates how the use of a combined approach of statistical methods and BSC could help organisations to design and implement a sound performance measurement system. Also the result of the comparison with the two companies previously mentioned revealed that the case company is lagging in most of the measures, necessitating the execution of necessary initiatives on these measures to fill the existing gaps.

The paper establishes the basis for integrating and using statistical methods for selection of strategic objectives and measures of BSC and paving the way for implementation of a performance management system, particularly the third‐generation BSC.

This study integrates statistical methods and third‐generation BSC techniques to design and implement a performance measurement system in an Iranian black carbon production company.

The aim of this study is, first, to explore the moderating effects of parent control on the strategic objectives of foreign firms entering international joint ventures (IJVs) and, second, to assess performance in relation to these objectives.

The study integrates three major theoretical streams in the IJV field to investigate the rationale for the formation of IJVs. The primary data collection method was a web‐based survey. The ability to collect large amounts of data without interviewers, stationery or postage, makes the cost of doing web surveys very attractive. Sino‐European manufacturing IJVs (in industries such as machinery, textiles, and electronics) were investigated.

The strong empirical evidence in this study confirms the significant moderating effects of parent control on attainment of strategic objectives, suggesting that different strategic objectives of foreign partners have different performance outcomes based on the degree of control exercised by the partner and the focus on different IJV activities. The findings also indicate that market‐developing and knowledge‐acquiring objectives outperform efficiency‐seeking objectives.

The purpose of this study was to examine satisfaction with performance from the point of view of the foreign IJV partner. Hence, data were collected from foreign senior management who represent foreign partners. Second, the single IJV host country context (China) inevitably raises the question as to whether the findings from this study can be generalised to IJVs in other emerging markets. Third, the relatively small sample size (61 IJVs), although comparable with previous studies, limits the use of more powerful statistical tools.

The findings of this study suggest that parent companies should formulate different control structures according to different strategic objectives. Second, and rather interestingly, different categories of objectives perform differently in joint ventures. It seems, for example, that, in joint ventures with Chinese partners, European multinational enterprises achieve better results in relation to market development and knowledge acquisition than when seeking organisational efficiency.

Prior research has tended to examine the IJV phenomenon from a single theoretical perspective. This study attempts to integrate three major theoretical streams in the IJV field to investigate the rationale for the formation of IJVs. As such, it potentially offers more comprehensive explanatory power. A further innovation is related to the use of a web‐based survey rather than the traditional mail survey.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the accurate cause and effect relationships among strategic objectives and also to demonstrate how decision makers can be guided in the process of defining quantitative strategic target values in the framework of balanced scorecard (BSC) and performance measurement system.

Based on the proposed method in this research, after determining strategic objectives and developing an initial strategy map according to decision makers’ opinions, simultaneous equations system (SES) was used to determine the significance of the relationships among strategic objectives in higher perspectives of the BSC and corresponding strategic objectives in lower perspectives. Afterward, desirable values for performance measures were determined based on the equations and relationships obtained through SES and were optimized by goal programming method.

By applying the proposed method, a clearer picture of the associations among strategic objectives is obtained and the influence of strategic objectives on one another is determined. Afterward, optimal values for strategic objectives are determined to achieve the organization’s goals.

This paper proposes a framework for constructing a strategy map and setting quantitative targets in the framework of BSC. Indeed, this paper presents a case study to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed approach. However, SES technique requires a greater amount of data to generate more accurate results. Although the advent of the Information Age has forced organizations’ decision makers to provide sufficient information and data for business analysis, the data requirements are met.

The presented quantitative approach is a supporting approach for improving decision makers’ opinions and enabling them to reach a more accurate picture of the relationships, valuing strategic objectives and achieving strategic goals. This research also presents a case study to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach. The application and implication of the proposed method in banking services show that the contributions of the paper are not only theoretical, but also practical.

The proposed method provides a novel approach for determining the most appropriate targets and applies a comprehensive and scientific model together with decision makers’ opinions and experiences and has two main contributions: first, the associations among strategic objectives are investigated and obtained in an effective way by conducting the SES for the first time in the framework of BSC. Second, quantitative targets have been determined to help in achieving the long-term goals. This task has been accomplished through a combination of SES, the three-stage least squares regression analysis and optimization by using weighted goal programming method.

Many research studies in operations management (OM) and strategic management (SM) investigate how different kinds of firm decisions regarding business relationships can positively affect a firm's operations performance, resource endowment, and competitive position. Very few studies exist, however, that have attempted to illuminate the actual behaviors of managers when making strategic decisions about their intercompany relationships; rather, most existing studies focus on normative theory. The purpose of this paper is to explore linkages between the “set” of strategic objectives that managers are willing to pursue, the “set” of networking decisions they make, and the “set” of business agreements they sign.

In order to investigate and explore actual managerial behaviors with respect to networking strategy, the study adopts a field research approach based on multiple case studies. Data were collected on 13 business agreements from three manufacturing firms in the mechatronics industry in Italy. Within‐case and cross‐case analyses are used for theory‐building purposes.

The empirical data allow identification four different archetypes of networking strategy. The archetypes capture different connections between the “set” of strategic objectives that managers are willing to pursue, the “set” of networking decisions that they consider, and the “set” of strategic agreements that they actually adopt. Specifically, the identified archetypes are named multi‐alignment, multi‐agreement (diversification), multi‐objective, and mono‐alignment (focus), and these are related to different association multiplicities among objectives, decisions, and agreements. The implications related to these archetypes are three‐fold. First, the multi‐alignment archetype suggests a focus not just on one kind of agreement, but also on the firm's overall portfolio of agreements, in order to facilitate understanding of how different kinds of agreements and networking decisions can play a complementary role in achieving a firm's predetermined business objective/s. Second, the multi‐agreement (diversification) archetype suggests that managers can minimize the risk of losing the potentiality of network collaboration by undertaking different kinds of agreements for the same strategic objective. Third, the mono‐alignment (focus) and multi‐objective archetypes suggest that just one agreement can potentially pursue one or multiple strategic objectives, and thus can allow managers to minimize the cost of managing several networking relationships.

The originality of this study lies in its exploration of linkages between objectives, decisions and networking agreements. Unlike most of the existing papers in OM and SM, however, it does not specifically focus on: vertical or horizontal relationships; operations performance (positioning school) or resource endowment (resource‐based view) strategic objectives; or any specific kind of agreement contract (outsourcing, alliance, joint venture, etc.). This paper presents four different networking strategy archetypes that represent different ways of matching a “set” of networking decisions, strategic objectives and business agreements. These are not related to either vertical or horizontal relationships, operations performance or resource endowment objectives, or any specific contract agreement form.

Introduces and delineates the concept of strategic planning maturities. It thus represents a small addition to the total body of knowledge underlying the strategic planning process. Uses a conceptual model to explicate the dynamic interrelationship between planning horizons and strategic planning maturities. Theoretical applications and real‐world applications link the concept of strategic planning maturities to successful and unsuccessful strategic decisions actually made by top management in a cross‐section of large organizations.

A distinguishing feature of strategic human resource management research is an emphasis on human resource (HR) systems, rather than individual HR practices as a driver of individual and organizational performance. Yet, there remains a lack of agreement regarding what these systems are, which practices comprise these systems, how these systems operate, and how they should be studied. Our goal in this paper is to take a step toward identifying and addressing several conceptual and methodological issues regarding HR systems. Conceptually, we argue that HR systems should be targeted toward some strategic objective and operate by influencing (1) employee knowledge, skills, and abilities, (2) employee motivation and effort, and (3) opportunities for employees to contribute. Methodologically, we explore issues related to the relationships among policies and practices, sampling issues, identifying the appropriate referent group(s), and who should serve as key informants for HR system studies.

The paper seeks to combine the uses of the balanced scorecard and hoshin kanri as integrative dynamic capabilities for the entire strategic management process. It aims to posit a model for the combination of these long‐ and short‐term organisational activities as a framework for a senior level to manage a firm's strategic fit as an integrated organisation‐wide system that links top management goals to daily management.

The resource‐based view of strategy is explored for its relevance to how a combined balanced scorecard and hoshin kanri approach serves as a high‐order dynamic capability. Examples are given from Canon, Toyota and Nissan, of how core capabilities are managed to show how strategy is executed cross‐functionally across a firm's functional hierarchy.

The study finds that strategic management of the organisation should consider the long‐term strategy as well as the short‐term capability. Important to this are core capabilities and core competences, cross‐functional management, and top executive audits, which, when managed properly, explicate a new view of strategic fit, as a form of nested hierarchies of dynamic capabilities.

The paper is the first exposition of how balanced scorecard and hoshin kanri practices may usefully complement each other in strategic management. It is a useful framework for dynamically managing sustained competitive advantage.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a quantitative methodology for the identification of the causal relationships between strategic objectives in a strategy map of a balanced scorecard. This is done to face the possible weaknesses described in the literature regarding the causal links and the difficulty in validating the relationships.

The proposed method combines the multi-criteria decision-making method called decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and an optimization model. DEMATEL is used to establish the importance of the strategic relations between strategic objectives, and the optimization model is used to find the relations that are more “important” and should be included in the strategy map. The method was created by reviewing the existing literature, modeling the problem, and applying it in a company.

The most important results of applying this methodological design include that the proposed method maintains the BSC classical structure; it also enables the generation of several alternatives to support the decision-making process in terms of strategic objectives for a better organizational performance.

The method facilitates the decision-making process by presenting several alternatives of strategy maps according to different levels of organizational criteria. In fact, these alternatives help the organization in focusing on the most important aspects of the strategy map. Consequently, managers may identify where to pay more attention and resources in order to achieve the most important objectives of the company. Hence, this method, as a support for decision makers, enables (and requires) the active participation of senior managers and any kind of decision makers in creating and valuating objectives, relations, constraints, importance, and parameters of the optimization model.

DEMATEL has been used to design strategy maps. The contribution of the paper is the use of a linear programming model to select those relationships that should be included in the strategy map. It allows manager to focus on those strategic elements that are important from a strategic point of view. The application in a company showed that the contribution is not only theoretical but practical as well.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a quantitative methodology for setting targets in the framework of Balanced Scorecard (BSC) in order to achieve vision and goals.

Response Surface Methodology is proposed to find the significant relationships that should be included in the strategy map and the optimal values of performance measures are assessed by using the desirability function-based approach of RSM. The proposed method was created by reviewing the existing literature, modeling the problem, and applying it in an oil company. In fact, RSM is used to execute the design matrix, analyze the collected data, extract models, analyze the results, and optimize the procedures that generate multiple responses.

By applying this methodological design, a clearer picture of the relationships between strategic objectives is obtained and the influence of strategic objectives on one another is determined. Afterward, optimal values for performance measures are determined.

This paper proposes a framework for constructing a strategy map and setting quantitative targets to translate the goals and strategies into corresponding performance measures and targets. Also, this paper presents a case study to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed approach. However, RSM-based techniques require a greater amount of data to generate more accurate results. Although the advent of the Information Age has forced organizations’ decision makers to provide sufficient information and data for business analysis, the data requirements of RSM-based techniques are met.

In practice, the process of setting targets for performance measures can be challenging in terms of reaching a consensus between managers and decision makers. The findings of this paper can offer a new approach for performance evaluation based on the BSC which allows the organization’s decision makers to reach a more accurate picture of the relationship model between organization goals and those objectives within the BSC. It also demonstrates how decision makers can be guided in the process of defining performance target values in the BSC method.

Reviewing the literature on setting quantitative targets within the framework of the BSC showed no prior study in which RSM is used. This approach has two main contributions: the associations among strategic objectives are investigated and obtained in an effective way which analytically identifies the direction and degree of the relations among the performance measures. Considering the performance evaluation structure based on the BSC, quantitative targets have been determined to help in achieving the long-term goals of the organization. The application of the proposed method in a company showed that the contributions of this research are not only theoretical, but practical as well.

The purpose of this study is to synthesise the prior literature on strategy maps to develop a practitioner’s guide to the design of strategy map frameworks. Robert Kaplan and David Norton introduced the strategy map in their 2000 Harvard Business review article. A strategy map visually represents how the critical elements of an organisation’s strategies are linked together. In an organisation’s strategy execution process, a strategy map complements a performance measurement framework such as the balanced scorecard.

This is a technical paper, which primarily builds on the prior literature on the strategy map design. In particular, this study reviews 41 publications on strategy maps in the period 2000-2015, including observation of 333 strategy map frameworks.

This study develops 14 design principles across seven features of a strategy map framework. This study also identifies a significant lack of empirical research on strategy map design features and principles.

Future research could examine whether and why various design features and principles could exert different or same effects (e.g. decision-relevance).

The developed design features and principles can be used by practitioners as guidance for developing customised strategy maps for their organisations.

This paper contributes to the literature by serving as a “one-stop shop” for both practitioners and researchers seeking a comprehensive understanding of the current state of the strategy map design features and principles.