Performance Management for Social Enterprises

All organisations face the challenge of how to assess performance beyond current financial metrics. These challenges are felt especially strongly by social enterprises, organisations that use business methods to achieve social goals. Social enterprises need to evidence superior social outcomes, are...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Systemic practice and action research 2010-04, Vol.23 (2), p.127-141
Main Authors: Meadows, Maureen, Pike, Matthew
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Balanced Scorecard
Business and Management
Business models
Case studies
Economic development
Grants
Methodology of the Social Sciences
Organization
Original Paper
Performance assessment
Performance evaluation
Performance management
Public sector
Social accounting
Social goals
Social impact
Sociology
Studies
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Summary:All organisations face the challenge of how to assess performance beyond current financial metrics. These challenges are felt especially strongly by social enterprises, organisations that use business methods to achieve social goals. Social enterprises need to evidence superior social outcomes, are normally accountable to a complex range of stakeholders and yet are often rated low to medium in terms of organisational capacity—thus whilst they have a great need for rounded measurement, they may in practice lack the ability to make use of the different approaches on offer. This paper examines the current and potential use of the conventional Balanced Scorecard model, by social enterprises. The Adventure Capital Fund provides case study evidence of extensive use of a modified Scorecard. The model used is dynamic, combining reflection on the organisation’s current position, ‘near term’ and long term issues. It aims to take a holistic and coherent view of the management of social enterprises. Experience to date suggests that the medium term snapshot provided by the Scorecard is the most valuable, allowing organisations and especially boards and senior executives to keep a ‘strategic grip’ in a period of rapid change and focus on those actions that have best chance of changing performance in the round.
ISSN:1094-429X
1573-9295
DOI:10.1007/s11213-009-9149-5