Information System Effects on Organizations Balanced Scorecard work

Abstract: Background: It has long been argued that decision support systems are used to simplify and support businesses. The creators of the Balanced Scorecard, Kaplan and Norton, have developed their own software application to facilitate and create a support to organizational strategy work. The application is called the Executive Strategy Manager (ESM) and is an online application aimed at helping organizations with their construction of, and reporting on, Balanced Scorecards. The ESM software represents a modern Decision Support System (DSS) in this thesis. Can a modern DSS help an organization with their Balanced Scorecard work by preventing some of the most common pitfalls when working with the Balanced Scorecard? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to determine the impact a Balanced Scorecard Decision Support System can have on the success rate of a Balanced Scorecard implementation and work. Methodology: A case study has been conducted to study the ESM through interviews with users of the ESM and the purveyor of the ESM. Conclusion: Through playing a crucial role in the process of implementing the BSC and by that successfully preventing some of the most common pitfalls, a modern DSS can increase the success rate of an organizations Balanced Scorecard work.