The two-way relationship between the Balanced Scorecard and Management Control Systems in organizations:Lessons from a Case Study

This paper reports a case study conducted in Quinta da Aveleda, one of<br/>the three largest Portuguese wine companies. Our aim was to explore the<br/>relationship established between a newly implemented Balanced Scorecard<br/>(BSC) and the elements of the Management Control System (MCS) in the<br/>organization. Thus, two specific objectives were pursued. Firstly, to identify<br/>the influences (barriers, opportunities) of the existing MCS on the implementation<br/>of the BSC. Secondly, to identify the impacts the BSC implementation<br/>was able to exert on the configuration of the organization’s MCS.<br/>We found that the budgeting process, the planning system, the information<br/>infrastructure, and the organizational structure and culture were the elements<br/>of the previous MCS that influenced the BSC implementation process.<br/>Eventually, the BSC implementation led to important changes in the budgeting,<br/>planning, reporting systems and processes. In order to explain these<br/>findings, we briefly explored the main issues and factors accounting for the<br/>scope and nature of the BSC’s impacts on Quinta da Aveleda. These issues<br/>and factors were the mobilized organizational resources, the implementation<br/>approach, the communication, and the organizational support.