Strategic performance systems and organizational resilience: evidence from a digitalized balanced scorecard

Purpose

This study examines how the digitalization of strategic performance systems contributes to organizational resilience in complex organizations. Focusing on the digitalization of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), the study explores how data-driven performance integration supports organizational adaptability, coordination, and informed decision-making under conditions of uncertainty.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-method research design was employed, combining semi-structured interviews with senior managers and longitudinal performance data collected between 2019 and 2024. Quantitative indicators were integrated into a digitalized BSC framework covering financial, internal process, learning, and service performance dimensions. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic coding to capture managerial interpretations of performance information, organizational learning, and resilience.

Findings

The findings indicate that organizations implementing a digitalized BSC demonstrate higher levels of operational agility, transparency, and cross-unit coordination. The integration of real-time performance data enhanced organizational preparedness for crisis situations, enabling faster decision cycles, improved resource allocation, and sustained performance during and after disruptive events.

Research limitations/implications

This study is subject to several limitations. First, the empirical analysis is based on three healthcare organizations within a single national context, which may limit the generalizability of the findings. Second, reliance on managerial interviews may introduce perceptual bias, although this was mitigated through triangulation with longitudinal performance data. Despite these limitations, the study offers analytical insights into how digitalized strategic performance systems shape organizational resilience. Future research could extend this approach across sectors and institutional contexts, and employ longitudinal or ethnographic designs to further examine sensemaking and learning processes.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that managers should approach the digitalization of performance systems as an organizational intervention rather than a purely technical upgrade. Digitalized Balanced Scorecard systems can enhance resilience when used to support sensemaking, coordination, and learning across organizational units. Leadership commitment and cross-unit engagement are critical to embedding performance information into everyday decision-making. Investments in digital infrastructure should therefore be complemented by managerial practices that encourage dialogue, reflection, and adaptive use of performance data, particularly in environments characterized by uncertainty and disruption.

Social implications

By strengthening organizational resilience, digitalized strategic performance systems can contribute to more reliable and responsive public services. In healthcare contexts, improved coordination and adaptive decision-making support continuity of care during periods of disruption, directly affecting patient safety and service quality. Enhanced transparency and learning-oriented use of performance information may also reinforce public trust in institutions by demonstrating accountability and responsiveness. More broadly, the findings suggest that performance system digitalization can support socially sustainable service delivery when aligned with organizational practices that prioritize learning, collaboration, and long-term public value.

Originality/value

This study contributes to organizational analysis by conceptualizing the digitalized Balanced Scorecard as a strategic performance system that supports organizational resilience. By linking performance integration, managerial sensemaking, and adaptive capacity, the paper extends existing performance management frameworks and offers practical insights into how digital performance systems can strengthen resilience in complex organizational settings.

Highlights