Strategic Management of Complexity

Mastering of Complexity in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) within a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) Analysis for the special case of the additional Perspective "E-Business"

Thèse de Doctorat , 2009 , 197 Pages , Note: A

Gestion d'entreprise - Direction d'entreprise, Management, Organisation

KAPLAN/NORTON suggested an enlargement or change of the BSC perspectives to be able to adjust the scorecard system to the individual situation of each company. They were aware that their four classic perspectives were not the central dimensions for every time, but need to be adjusted, when the economic environment of a company changes. Exactly such a change happened, when the digital economy appeared. That is a main reason, why a new perspective is important to consider the e-business strategy.
In practice most of the SME use only the four basic perspectives that are described in the fundamental literature. They do neither dare to create alterations of the perspectives nor to change or modify the shown procedure. These companies need a support, how to add the e-business perspective to consider the digital economy. For this reason it is necessary to give stimulation to the business practice, how to handle goals, structures and initiatives of such a new perspective. There is a permanently increasing supply of hardware and software solutions to support or partly take over the processes of the company.
The balanced scorecard respects soft facts in its calculations. In the digital economy these soft facts become more and more important. In former times the managing directors of SME often ignored the knock-on effect of soft facts. They orientated mainly about financial figures. But the digital economy has to consider different strategies. Some statistics depict that even up to 80% of a company’s profits in the digital economy depend on soft facts. Managers have to learn dealing with soft facts and intrinsic values. As DRUCKER says, the experience of every employee can be used as a source of value added. An employee can never be trained or involved too much, because he/she has a big financial stake in the outcome. When the traditional managers felt threatened by change, bothered by uncertainty, because they preferred predictability and wanted to inclined to change the status quo, now the entrepreneurial manager must be confident in his abilities and has to seize every opportunity for a restructuring.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• 1. Introduction
• 1.1. Issues of the Thesis
• 1.2. Structure of the Thesis
• 2. Complexity as a typical Characteristic of Companies
• 2.1. Complexity as a Phenomenon of Nature
• 2.2. Typical Mistakes by Managing Complexity
• 2.3. Complex Qualities of Companies
• 3. Choice of a Strategic Framework
• 3.1. The Holistic Approach as a Framework for Analysis
• 3.1.1. Break with the Reduction of Complexity
• 3.1.2. Increasing Importance of the Soft Skills
• 3.1.3. Information Systems with Holistic Character
• 3.2. The Balanced Scorecard as a Holistic Approach
• 3.1.1. Fundamentals of the BSC Analysis
• 3.2.2. Transfer of the Strategy
• 4. Necessity of a Fifth Perspective "E-Business"
• 4.1. Reason: Complexity of the E-Business
• 4.1.1. E-Business as a Complex Managing Method
• 4.1.2. Complex Characteristics of E-Commerce (Internet)
• 4.2. Enlargement of the BSC-Analysis
• 4.2.1. Advantages of an additional Perspective and Formal Conditions
• 4.2.2. Consequences of the Enlargement for the BSC-Architecture
• 4.3. Fundamentals of a BSC-Analysis of the E-Business Perspective
• 4.3.1. Strategic Business Areas of the E-Business
• 4.3.2. Typical E-Business Strategies
• 5. Case Study of a Real Estate SME
• 5.1. Analysis of the E-Business Perspective
• 5.1.1. Strategic Business Areas of E-Business
• 5.1.2. Analysis of the Value-Chains that contain E-Business-Elements
• 5.2. Cause-and-Effect Relations of the E-Business Perspective
• 5.2.1. Relevant Goals System
• 5.2.2. Possible Measures
• 5.2.3. Choice of Initiatives
• 5.3. Implementation of the BSC-Analysis
• 5.3.1. Design of a Ratio System
• 5.3.2. Evaluation
• 5.3.3. Interpretation

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis aims to analyze the strategic management of complexity in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), specifically focusing on the integration of e-business within a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) framework. The research explores how a holistic approach, utilizing the BSC, can effectively address the challenges posed by increasing complexity in modern business environments.

• Strategic management of complexity in SMEs
• The role of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) in managing complexity
• Integration of e-business as a fifth perspective within the BSC
• Analysis of value chains incorporating e-business elements
• Case study application of the BSC framework in a real estate SME

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

Chapter 1 introduces the research problem and outlines the thesis structure. Chapter 2 explores the nature of complexity within companies and common managerial errors. Chapter 3 presents the Balanced Scorecard as a holistic framework for managing complexity. Chapter 4 justifies the necessity of adding an e-business perspective to the BSC and elaborates on its integration. Chapter 5 details a case study of a real estate SME, analyzing its e-business perspective, value chains, and the implementation of the modified BSC.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

Strategic management, complexity, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Balanced Scorecard (BSC), e-business, e-commerce, holistic approach, value chain analysis, case study, real estate.

• Université: Comenius University in Bratislava (Department of Management)
• Cours: Corporate Management
• Note: A
• Auteur: Dr. Susanna Mandorf (Auteur)
• Année de publication: 2009
• Pages: 197
• N° de catalogue: V181100
• ISBN (ebook): 9783656040996
• ISBN (Livre): 9783656041276
• Langue: anglais
• mots-clé: Strategic Management, Digital Economy, Internetökonomie, BSC, Balanced Scorecard Analysis, Balanced Scorecard, success factor, management, business, business engineering, IT-Management, IT-Balanced Scorecard, E-Business, electronic business, E-Commerce, electronic commerce, SME, KMU, medium-sized enterprises, complexity, complexity management, alignment