Key Features

There are four key features of the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard, such as:

• Structure: There are three possible structures, which an SBS can have e.g., hierarchical, semi-hierarchical, and non-hierarchical (network).
  • Hierarchical structure is a structure based on the ultimate profit-driven objective, meaning the financial perspective.
  • Semi-hierarchical structure has the direct cause-effect links pointing upwards to the financial perspective, which allow other objectives stand for their own and not necessarily as a cause for ultimate financial goals.
  • Non-hierarchical structure is there when perspectives in a network configuration where all aspects of the scorecard are closely interconnected.
• Value System: This is dependent on the structure presented above. For example: semi-hierarchical SBS structures are more related to the social/political approach as they allow to balance the conflicting interests of different stakeholders.
• Orientation: A detail-to-general orientation as opposed to a general-to-detail one.
• Confinement: SBS can be seen as an extension from the original balanced scorecard, which may provide less flexibility in approach.