The Balanced Scorecard as an ephemeral tool: Traces and lessons from a failed cooperative transition

Le Balanced Scorecard comme outil éphémère: traces et enseignements d’une transition en coopérative manquée

Benjamin Habermacher () and Marc Bollecker ()
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Benjamin Habermacher: Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar, CREGO - Centre de Recherche en Gestion des Organisations - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar - UB - Université de Bourgogne - UBFC - Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] - UFC - Université de Franche-Comté - UBFC - Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE]
Marc Bollecker: CREGO - Centre de Recherche en Gestion des Organisations - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar - UB - Université de Bourgogne - UBFC - Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] - UFC - Université de Franche-Comté - UBFC - Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE], Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar

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Abstract: Management science research on cooperatives has been particularly rich over the past twenty years, particularly in regard to existing management tools within these structures. The appropriation of these tools by cooperatives is complex and often requires adaptation or hybridization. Among these tools, the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) holds a special place. Although it has been widely studied for over thirty years in management, its use in cooperatives remains under-documented, particularly during the creation or transition phase. This paper addresses how the implementation of the BSC enables the transformation of an organization. It looks, using actor-network theory and the concept of editing, at how a BSC was implemented in an association that was changing into a multi-stakeholder cooperative (SCIC). This research is comparable to unstructured ethnography. The results show that neither the transformation into a SCIC nor the implementation of the BSC were successful. Nevertheless, the system left its mark on the practices and representations of the actors, contributing to organizational learning and a shift toward an "assimilated cooperative."

Keywords: actor-network theory; Balanced Scorecard; association; cooperatives; théorie de l’acteur-réseau; Coopérative (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-02-10
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Published in Management & sciences sociales, 2026, n° 44 (1), pp.137-156. ⟨10.3917/mss.044.0139⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05586664

DOI: 10.3917/mss.044.0139

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