Rentabilité des sociétés de construction en région wallonne et en région de Bruxelles-Capitale: impact du balanced scorecard

Abstract

The balanced scorecard is a strategic management tool that, on one hand, helps developing strategy and translating it into objectives and, on the other hand, provides a dashboard composed of key financial and non financial indicators that evaluate the completion of these strategic objectives. According to prior empirical studies, the balanced scorecard has a positive impact on financial performance. Nevertheless, it seems that contextual factors have a key role in this success. Since no research has specifically studied the impact of the balanced scorecard in the construction sector, this thesis aims at finding out its financial consequences (return on assets) in this sector in the Walloon Region and in the Brussels-Capital Region, both located in Belgium. Descriptive results show that this population of companies does not put an emphasis on the development of strategic performance measurement tools such as the balanced scorecard. This was the main reason that led to a lack of empirical evidences to conclude on this research question. However, companies that have a return on assets above average generally develop better their strategy and their strategic indicators. So far, no statistical proof could substantiate this descriptive finding. Additional findings show that the size of the company has an impact on its use of strategic indicators. Moreover, for companies that employ at least 50 workers, it is clear that the development of a strategy plan has a significant positive impact on return on assets. Given all these results, the thesis proposes opportunities for future research.