abstract: 'The Portuguese business structure is essentially composed of small and

  medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which, despite their size, generate

  employment and contribute to the increase of national income. In many of

  these companies, some of them having less than ten employees, management

  and operational functions are often carried out by the entrepreneur. In

  addition, the entrepreneur does not always have technical knowledge in

  management, nor do they have the available time (since they have various

  responsibilities within the company) to develop and implement a

  management strategy that allows the enterprise to remain in the market

  while adopting a more conscious, consistent and sustained orientation.

  Within the scope of the Operational Program for Competitiveness and

  Internationalization - Portugal 2020, the Balanced ScoreCard (BSC)

  strategic management instrument was developed and implemented in several

  companies and sectors of the Portuguese economy. This instrument was

  crucial in initiating a process of strategic thinking which, quite

  possibly, would not have happened in such a short time horizon. This

  research work analyses through an essentially qualitative research the

  way the BSC instrument was developed and implemented. Another objective

  is to understand the main advantages of its use and its main application

  constraints. The data was gathered through a semi-structured interview

  developed for the owners of four Portuguese SMEs in the northern region

  Portugal, targeted under the abovementioned programme framework. The

  results demonstrate the instrument was essential for the development of

  a structured strategic thinking, as well as for a better performance

  and, consequently, to the improvement of the competitiveness of the

  targeted companies. The results also show the instrument had to be

  adapted and simplified and its implementation has to involve all the

  employees of the enterprises.'
affiliation: 'Cardim, S (Corresponding Author), Inst Polytech Braganca, Braganca,
  Portugal.

  Cardim, Sofia; Nunes, Alcina; Fernandes, Paula Odete, Inst Polytech Braganca, Braganca,
  Portugal.

  Nunes, Alcina; Fernandes, Paula Odete, Inst Polytech Braganca, Appl Management Res
  Unit UNIAG, Braganca, Portugal.

  Branco, Frederico, Univ Tras Os Montes \& Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal.

  Branco, Frederico, INESC TEC, Vila Real, Portugal.

  Branco, Frederico, UTAD, Vila Real, Portugal.'
author: Cardim, Sofia and Nunes, Alcina and Fernandes, Paula Odete and Branco, Frederico
author-email: 'sofiacardim@ipb.pt

  alcina@ipb.pt

  pof@ipb.pt

  fbranco@utad.pt'
author_list:
- family: Cardim
  given: Sofia
- family: Nunes
  given: Alcina
- family: Fernandes
  given: Paula Odete
- family: Branco
  given: Frederico
booktitle: 'PROCEEDINGS OF THE 13TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON INNOVATION AND

  ENTREPRENEURSHIP (ECIE 2018)'
da: '2023-09-28'
editor: Costa, C and AuYongOliveira, M and Amorim, MPC
eissn: 2049-1069
files: []
isbn: 978-1-911218-98-2
issn: 2049-1050
keywords: 'Balanced ScoreCard; SMEs; strategic thinking; performance;

  competitiveness; Portugal'
language: English
note: '13th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ECIE),

  Aveiro, PORTUGAL, SEP 20-21, 2018'
number-of-cited-references: '17'
orcid-numbers: 'Fernandes, Paula Odete/0000-0001-8714-4901

  Nunes, Alcina/0000-0003-4056-9747

  Cardim Barata, Ana Sofia/0000-0002-7506-5111

  Branco, Frederico/0000-0001-8434-4887'
pages: 177-182
papis_id: 93f6954736ef96101ed8036b25be2812
ref: Cardim2018implementationbalanc
researcherid-numbers: 'Fernandes, Paula Odete/N-3804-2013

  Nunes, Alcina/M-8259-2013

  Fernandes, Pedro/HGF-1507-2022

  Branco, Frederico/GPT-3972-2022

  Cardim Barata, Ana Sofia/HPG-9403-2023

  '
series: 'Proceedings of the European Conference on Entrepreneurship and

  Innovation'
times-cited: '0'
title: 'Implementation of Balanced ScoreCard: Simplify strategic thinking development
  in Portuguese SMEs'
type: proceedings
unique-id: WOS:000540889200020
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '2'
web-of-science-categories: Business; Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
year: '2018'