Balance Scorecard - Chiến lược quản lý để nâng cao năng lực cạnh tranh của các tổng công ty ở Việt Nam

Nội dung text: Balance Scorecard - Chiến lược quản lý để nâng cao năng lực cạnh tranh của các tổng công ty ở Việt Nam

1. THE BALANCE SCORECARD - STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT TO IMPROVE THE COMPETITIVENESS OF CORPORATIONS IN VIET NAM BALANCE SCORECARD - CHIẾN LƯỢC QUẢN LÝ ĐỂ NÂNG CAO NĂNG LỰC CẠNH TRANH CỦA CÁC TỔNG CÔNG TY Ở VIỆT NAM Le Van Hung PhD student, Political Academy Abstract The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a performance measurement tool as well as a strategic management tool developed by Kaplan & Norton in the early 1990s and has been successfully implemented in many countries over the world. Quantitative research was conducted in this paper, using questionnaire survey to collect information from 68 Vietnamese enterprises, showing factors influencing the success of the BSC model in the Vietnamese economic background include perception on BSC, management involvement from the leader and the role of the finance department in the business. This contribution helps managers to consider issues and propose solutions such as the need for a clear understanding of BSC, the need for managers to have high commitment and assurance of support to the implementation team during the implementation or construction of a strong financial unit. Keywords: balance scorecard, Vietnamese enterprise, perception on BSC, performance measurement. Tóm tắt Balance scorecard (BSC) là một công cụ đo lường hiệu suất cũng như công cụ quản lý chiến lược được phát triển bởi Kaplan & Norton vào đầu những năm 1990 và đã được triển khai thành công ở nhiều quốc gia trên thế giới. Nghiên cứu định lượng được thực hiện trong bài báo này, sử dụng câu hỏi khảo sát để thu thập thông tin từ 68 doanh nghiệp Việt Nam, cho thấy các yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến sự thành công của mô hình BSC trong nền kinh tế Việt Nam bao gồm nhận thức về BSC, sự tham gia quản lý từ lãnh đạo và vai trò của bộ phận tài chính trong kinh doanh. Đóng góp này giúp các nhà quản lý xem xét các vấn đề và đề xuất các giải pháp như nhu cầu hiểu rõ về BSC, cần các nhà quản lý có cam kết cao và đảm bảo hỗ trợ cho nhóm thực hiện trong quá trình thực hiện hoặc xây dựng một đơn vị tài chính mạnh. Từ khóa: Balance scorecard, doanh nghiệp Việt Nam, nhận thức về BSC, đo lường hiệu suất. 1. Introduction In the current trend of integration and competition, improving the competitiveness of enterprises in particular and the economy in general is one of the most important tasks of Vietnam. According to Kaplan & Norton (1992): “what you measure is what you get”. It 935
2. can be seen that an enterprise’s measurement system greatly impacts the behavior of the managers and employees of that enterprise. In today's dynamic, continuously changing environment, the traditional financial accounting measures such as return-on-investment, earnings-per-share, can lead to misleading signals and no longer catch up with recent trends. Balanced Scorecard is a performance measurement tool as well as a strategic management tool developed by Kaplan & Norton in the early 1990s that actually created a storm in the industry of accounting. According to Niven (2006), more than 50% of Fortune 1000 companies have adopted this method. Furthermore, he also pointed out that 49% of enterprises in North America, 54% of European enterprises, 52% of Asian enterprises and 56% of Latin American enterprises used BSC. Because of its wide acceptance and high efficiency, the BSC is considered one of the 75 most influential inventions of the twentieth century, as published by the Harvard Business Review in 2000. In theory, since its launch in 1992, BSC has become one of the topics that attracted researchers to study about it. The previous studies on BSC are quite diverse and have many different research directions such as studies on exploitation, development according to the functions of BSC; studies on the application of BSC in various sectors; Study on the extent to which BSC is accepted in the specific context of the economies of different countries, etc However, the BSC has not been widely applied in Vietnam and there are quite few research articles on BSC in Vietnam. Therefore, the study of the factors affecting the successful application of the BSC under Vietnam's specific conditions is not only of practical significance but also of theoretical contribution to complement and perfect the theory on BSC. In addition, the article also gives the reader the most comprehensive overview of the BSC and, more importantly, the research findings show the factors that affect the success of the BSC model in economic conditions, including: (1) Awareness of BSC, (2) Management involvement of the leaders and (3) Role of the finance department in the enterprise. This contribution helps managers evaluate and consider the issues when implementing BSC. At the same time, study also provides recommendations and solutions to promote the application of BSC in Vietnam and improve the efficiency of the BSC model in corporate governance. 2. Theoretical basis 2.1. Balance scorecard The scorecard was first developed by Robert Kaplan (Harvard University professor) and David Norton (a consultant in the Boston area). In 1990, they began researching a number of companies for the purpose of discovering new ways to measure performance. Traditionally, industries measure performance primarily on the basis of financial indicators. However, after conducting research with the top 12 performance measurement companies, Kaplan and Norton (1992) presented a "Balance Scorecard" - a set of financial measures that allowed managers to find out the results of the actions taken and the measures that drive the future development, including: customer satisfaction, 936
3. internal processes and learning for development. The balance scorecard allows managers to transform a company's strategy into specific measurable objectives, to examine the business from four key aspects, and to provide answers to the following basic questions: - On the aspect of finance: “How do we meet the requirements of shareholders?” - On the aspect of customers: “How do customers see us?” - On the aspect of internal process: “What are we to do?” - On the aspect of study and development: “Would we be able to continue progressing and creating more added value?” In terms of content, BSC is designed by Kaplan & Norton including four aspects: finance, customer, internal processes, learning and development. (Figure 1) How do we Finance meet the requirements of Target Measures Figure Action shareholders? What Internal Process are w VISION Target Measures Figure Action AND e to STRATEGY do? Would we Refinement and Development be able to continue Target Measures Figure Action progressing and creating more added value Figure1: Four aspects of BSC Source: Robert Kaplan & David P.Norton, 1992 2.2. Factors that affect successful application of BSC (1) Perception of Balanced Scorecard: According to Dragan Pujas (2010) and Niven (2006), one of the reasons why BSC fail is because enterprises do not understand exactly what the BSC is and what it involves. Whether the enterprise implements BSC by itself, or outsources consultants. Therefore, the hypothesis No. H1 is: The level of perception of BSC has a positive impact on the successful application of BSC model in Vietnamese enterprises. (2) Management involvement from the leaders: According to Dragan Pujas (2010) and Geert Braam and Ed Nijssen (2008), the leaderspay an important role in strategy formation, organizational design and system management. They have a great influence in the enterprise and are responsible for the strategic and operational 937
4. effectiveness of the company. Thus, the hypothesis No. H2 is:The level of management involvement from the leader has a positive impact on the successful application of the BSC model in Vietnamese enterprises. (3) The role of the finance department: According to Geert Braam and Ed Nijssen (2008), the accounting department would have a specific knowledge of the organizational method to benefit from the use of performance metrics and management systems like BSC. When the accounting department is influential in the enterprise, the role involved in maintaining and updating accounting processes will be respected, as long as BSC is considered as an accounting tool. Thus, the hypothesis No. H3 is: The role of the finance department has a positive impact on the successful application of the BSC model in Vietnamese enterprises. (4) Information Technology: According to Niven (2006) and Eric Tanyi (2011), the process of gathering, analyzing, reporting and distributing information related to the BSC can be labor-intensive and time-consuming; This process can put a lot of pressure and fatigue on the BSC team. This problem can be overcome by designing an automated information delivery system and an easy-to-use BSC application software in the enterprise. Therefore, the hypothesis No. H4: The level of information technology application has positively impacted the successful application of BSC model in Vietnamese enterprises. (5) Education and Training: According to Dragan Pujas (2010), Niven (2006), many managers believe that proper education and training are not compulsory. Such a conclusion would permanently damage the project and lead to the failure of the BSC. Therefore, the H5 hypothesis is:the level of education and training has a positive impact on the successful application of the BSC model in Vietnamese enterprises. (6) Internal Communication: According to Niven (2006), BSC fails because the enterprise does not communicate enough information to employees. The success of the BSC is based on the cooperation and support of staff. A communication plan enhances the ability of employees through tools and helps the BSC become a tool for business decision making. Thus, the H6 hypothesis is: The internal communication level has a positive impact on the sucessful application of the BSC model in Vietnamese enterprises. 3. Research methodology This article uses quantitative methods and surveys through questionnaires as it is a very appropriate way to measure relationships and test hypotheses when the amount of information to be collected is large; it saves money and time and can cover a large scale of survey. 3.1. Research design and data collection Since launched in 1992, BSC has become a matter of concern among researchers. There have been a wide range of in-depth studies on BSC such as ones on its operating methods, its functions and applications in various sectors and key indicators that affect successful application of BSC in different business forms in the economic context of different countries. Among those mentioned above, the ones on factors that influence effective implementation of BSC have attracted great attention of researchers. An overseas 938
5. research "Beer & Eisenstat" (2000) pointed out three factors attributing to the utilization of BSC, which are: the leader participate in management, information technology (IT), and internal communication. Another study "Key factors make Balanced Scorecard Successful” by Barkdoll Jake & John Kamensky, which was published on the website of BSC Interest Group in July 2005, added up two more factors: finance and education. In the Vietnamese first study regarding to BSC, "An application of Balanced Scorecard in Vietnamese service businesses" by Dang Thi Huong, published on Journal of Economic and Business Studies, Vietnam National University 26 (2010) 94-104, the author identified five key performance indicators that affect BSC, including Management Involvement from the leaders, role of the financial department, the perception on BSC, education and training and IT. Another honorable mention is Mai Xuan Thuy's (2012). Findings of researches on factors that influence the success of BSC are summarized in the table below: Table 1. Summary of factors that affect successful application of BSC model Management Role of the Factors Involvement Financial Perception Education & IT Internal from the leaders Dep't on BSC Training Communicatio n Beer & Eisenstat x x x (2000) Barkdoll Jake & John Kamensky x x x x x (2005) Oana Adriana x x x x x (2007) Geert Braam và Ed Nijssen (2008) x x x Nguyen Anh Thu (2010) x x x x x Dang Thi Huong x x x x x (2010) Dragan Pujas (2010) x x x x x Eric Tanyi (2011) x x x Mai Xuan Thuy x x x x (2012) Simon K.Cheruiyot (2013) x x x x Source: Developed by the authors Based on the research model of Dragan Pujas (2010), combined with other studies by Geert Braam and Ed Nijssen (2008), Eric Tanyi (2011) and Simon K.Cheruiyot (2013), together with the current situation in Vietnam, the authors propose the research model as follows 939
6. Figure 2: Research model Source: Developed by the authors The SPSS 20 software is used to test the reliability of the scale and the hypotheses of the study. The questionnaires of 20 questions are divided into three main sections: Introduction: This section aims at introducing the objectives, the importance of the research and a brief overview on BSC model. Thus, questions numbers 1 to 5 are about the general information of the company such as: fields of activity, forms of ownership, scales of the business, etc. Section 1 - Business characteristics: This section aims at identifying features of enterprises surveyed. Section 2 - Balanced Scorecard (BSC): This is the major part of the questionnaires, containing questions relating to elements of the research and the application of BSC in the business (including questions number 6 to 10). The content of the questions is designed according to the model and the scale presented above in order to test the hypotheses. The detail is as below: Section 3 - Personal information: This section aims at collecting additional information to make notes if necessary such as full name, address, email, etc. In terms of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), according to the study by Hair, Anderson, Tatham and Black (1998) on reference to expected sample size. Whereby, the minimum sample size quintuples the total number of observed variables, with the formula being n = 5*m, in which m being the number of the questions in the study. In this study, the number of questions relating to factors is 6, therefore, the minimum sample size is 30, and the size 33 is acceptable. 940
7. 3.2. Variables and measures All independent and dependent variables use the scale presented in previous studies by Dragan Pujas (2010), Geert Braam and Ed Nijssen (2008), Eric Tanyi (2011), and Simon K.Cheruiyot (2013). 3.2.1. Independent variables The successful application of BSC in Vietnamese enterprises is characterized by: - BSC brings a high level of efficiency in operating activities - BSC conveys visions and strategies effectively in the whole enterprise. 3.2.2. Dependent variables All the dependent variables are used in measuring different factors: * Perception on BSC: applying the scale introduced in researches by Dragan Pujas (2010) and Eric Tanyi (2011). The understanding level of BSC is characterized by: - BSC not only measures the efficiency but also varies in application in the enterprise. - BSC is planned explicitly, presenting the link among four aspects. * Management Involvement from the leaders: applying the scale introduced in researches by Dragan Pujas (2010), Geert Braam and Ed Nijssen (2008), Eric Tanyi (2011), Simon K.Cheruiyot (2013). The level of management involvement from the leaders in operating BSC is characterized by: - Senior leaders engare in the process of introducing BSC within the enterprise. - Senior leaders understand that appropriate use of KPIs is fundamental for the prosperity of the company. - Senior leaders support the BSC groups. - Senior leaders can obtain information from many new resources. * Role of the Financial Department: applying the scale introduced in researches by Dragan Pujas (2010), Geert Braam and Ed Nijssen (2008), Simon K.Cheruiyot (2013). The level of financial support in implementing BSC is characterized by: - The financial department has stronger power in the organization than others. - Accountants have influences and even prevail over other positions in the enterprise. - Compensation systems for staffs * Information Technology: applying the scale introduced in researches by Dragan Pujas (2010), Eric Tanyi (2011) and Simon K.Cheruiyot (2013). The level of IT application to BSC is characterized by: - Utilize IT in the process of operating BSC. 941
8. - Application software is simple to use. * Education and Training: applying the scale introduced in researches by Dragan Pujas (2010), and Simon K.Cheruiyot (2013). The level of education and training regarding to BSC is characterized by: - Participants of BSC are experienced. - Seminars about BSC during the performing process - Hire BSC consultants. * Internal communication: applying the scale introduced in researches by Dragan Pujas (2010), Geert Braam and Ed Nijssen (2008) The level of internal communication is characterized by: - The access to administrative and financial information is limited at different levels. - Information exchange among departments in the enterprise is important and frequent.All the independent and dependent variables use the scale established in previous studies by Dragan Pujas (2010), Geert Braam and Ed Nijssen (2008), Eric Tanyi (2011), and Simon K.Cheruiyot (2013). This has been indicated by questions and statements surrounding the implications of the variables for the respondents to express their perspectives. The variables are measured by using a wide range of items and statements in the form of Likert with the scale of 1 to 5 (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = normal/neutral, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree), unless otherwise stated. + The multivariable regression equation for the model is as follows: Y = f(x) = þO + þ1X1 + þ2X2 + þ3X3 + þ4X4 + þ5X5 + þ6X6 + s Of which: Y - MHTC: the success of BSC model in Vietnamese enterprises X1 - NTVB: Perception of BSC X2 - TGQL: management involvement from the leaders X3- BPTC the role of the finance department X4- CNTT: Information technology X5 - GDDT: Education and training X6 - TTNB - Internal communication þO Is a constant þ1, þ2, þ3, þ4, þ5, þ6 are the coefficients of resonance s is a random error 4. Results 4.1. Verification of scale reliability All independent variables and dependent variables have Cronbach's Alpha> 0.6 and Corrected Item-Total Correlation > 0.3, so the variables are highly reliable. Only independent variables of internal communication have Cronbach's Alpha coefficient = 0.207 <0.6 and are therefore excluded from the study. 942
9. Therefore, the research model after excluding internal communication is shown as follows: Figure 3: Adjustment of research model Source: Developed by the Authors 4.2. Test of hypotheses This is the most important step to be taken to test hypotheses in the research model as well as to answer the research questions that have been raised. The method used is multivariate regression analysis with the support of SPSS 20 software. After the test on the SPSS software, we obtained the following tables: Table 3: Model Summary Mode R R Adjusted R Std. Error of the Durbin- l Square Square Estimate Watson 1 .664a 0.441 0.338 0.464 2.142 a. Predictors: (Constant), GDDT, NTVB, CNTT, TGQL, BPTC b. Dependent Variable: MHTC Source: Test results on SPSS software As shown in Table 1, the R-Square coefficient of 0.441 means that the independent variables explain 44.1% of the variance of the dependent variables. The Durbin-Watson test indicates whether the model has autocorrelation. Durbin- Watson statistic values are from 1 to 4. According to Durbin-Watson (1950), the self- correlation value is positive when the Durbin- Watson is 0, and is negative when the 943
10. Durbin- Watson is 4, and no autocorrelation at 2. According to Table 3, the Durbin-Watson value = 2,142, which is close to 2, so the model does not have autocorrelation. Table 4: Correlation coefficients Unstandardized Standardized Collinearity Statistics Model Coefficients Coefficients t Sig. B (Std. Error) Beta Tolerance VIF Constant 0.739 0.838 0.882 0.386 NTVB 0.172 0.085 0.307 2.035 0.018 0.907 1.103 TGQL 0.202 0.109 0.287 1.854 0.046 0.863 1.158 1 CNTT 0.038 0.122 0.045 0.311 0.414 0.965 1.037 GDDT 0.105 0.089 0.174 1.175 0.464 0.941 1.063 BPTC 0.322 0.102 0.492 3.164 0.004 0.856 1.168 a. Dependent Variable: MHTC Source: Test results on SPSS software When correlating the correlation coefficients, Pearson discusses multi-collinearity, so authors will consider multi-collinearity through the Variance Influence Factor (VIF). One convention is that if VIF ≥ 10, there is a high multi-collinearity between independent variables in the model. However, this is an experimental convention; foe some authors like Allison (1999), VIF ≥ 2.5 is considered to be a hyper-collinear phenomenon. In Table 4, the VIF coefficient is less than 2.5 and fluctuates around 1.1, so there is no collinearity in the model. Table 4 shows that the sigma coefficients of NVTB, TGQL, BPTC .05, which is not statistically significant, so the hypotheses H4, H5 are rejected because they are of no statistical significance. (1) Perception on BSC Hypothesis H1: The level of perception on BSC has a positive influence on the successful application of BSC model in Vietnamese enterprises. According to the results, the relationship between awareness of BSC and success of BSC model with a regression coefficient of β1 = 0.307 demonstrates the sole effect of perception on BSC on the success of BSC model. To be more specific, when the perception on a BSC increases (decreases), 1 unit in the average success of BSC in the enterprise will correlatively increase (decrease) 0.307 unit. With significance level of sig = 0.018 <0.05, the H1 hypothesis is thus accepted. This indicates that gaining understanding about BSC prior to the model implementation has a significant implication for the effectiveness of the outcomes. (2) Leaders’ Management Involvement The hypothesis H2 states that the level of involvement of leaders in management brings about a positive influence on the successful implementation of the BSC model in 944
11. Vietnamese enterprises. The results of the research show that the existence of correlation between the involvement of leaders in management and the success of the BSC model with a value of β2 = 0.287 demonstrates the sole influence of the participation of leaders on the success of BSC model. Specifically, when the involvement of leaders increases (decreases) 1 unit, the average success of the BSC in the enterprise will increase (decrease) 0.287 unit. The significance level sig = 0.046 0.05 With this result, the hypothesis is rejected. As sig> 0.05, this variable is not statistically significant, or it can be inferred that the application of information technology has nothing to do with the success of the BSC model. (5) Education and Training Hypothesis H5 states that The level of education and training has a positive influence on the successful application of the BSC model in Vietnamese businesses. Education and training and success of the BSC model are related to each other by the value þ5 = 0,174 with statistical significance level sig = 0,464 > 0,05. With this result, thus, the hypothesis is rejected. Similar to information and technology, variable of education and training is not statistically significant in the model. 5. Conclusion and Recommendation 5.1. Conclusion Because of the actual situation in Vietnamese businesses in the context of 945
12. increasingly fast competition and integration, improving competitiveness through the usage of new and advanced management methods and tools has become one of the leading priorities of Vietnamese enterprises. The BSC was first introduced in 1992 by Robert S. Kaplan and David Norton, and so far has been successfully implemented in many countries around the world. This research aims to help managers identify the factors that affect the success of the BSC model in Vietnamese enterprises, and the influence of each factor, thereby promote the widespread utilization of this model. Based on the model developed from the previous studies, quantitative research methodology conducted through questionnaire survey to collect information from 68 Vietnamese enterprises was used. The authors used SPSS software to conduct hypothesis testing and multivariate analysis of the research model. The results are as follows: (1) Three factors have been identified that influence the successful adoption of the BSC model in Vietnamese. They are: Perception on BSC Leaders’ Management Involvement Role of the Financial Department (2) Although the factors have a positive influence on the dependent variable, the level of influence from each factor varies. Specifically: Perception on BSC A lack of understanding of BSC is one of the reasons leading to failure of BSC, which have been affirmed by previous studies. Not knowing what BSC is or where to deploy BSC can lead to erroneous decisions from the start. BSC is not only a system for tracking performance indicators or performance monitoring, but it also helps companies interpret strategies into specific goals and metrics, describes the business strategies in a way that all people working in the same organization can understand, it helps connect the business objectives effectively and is classified into four aspects of the BSC which are: finance, customers, internal processes, learning and development The four aspects must be well connected altogether in a series of cause- effect relations. By that way, the BSC communicates the strategy in a clear, concise manner to all members involved inside and outside the business. Leaders’ Management Involvement Previous studies have shown the role of senior managers for the favorable outcome of the BSC model in strategic management of enterprises. Senior managers play a crucial role in promoting the development process in general and success of the BSC model in particular: Research results have pointed out the importance of leadership in the successfulness of the BSC model. To promote this factor, the following four issues need to be addressed: (1) The leaders need to be actively involved in the process of introducing strategic management systems throughout the enterprise. (2) Insight that the use of indicators and standards to build and implement strategies is essential to business success is required. (3) Enterprises should be provided with sufficient information and support to improve their strategic management system. 946
13. (4) Leaders are supposed to keep the information up-to-date, particularly when things go wrong, as well as update innovations so that their businesses are not left behind. These four contents reflect the level of interest of leaders in the development and adoption of BSC in their businesses, thus leading to concern in how to make BSC effective as expected. Previous researchers have demonstrated this, and the authors affirm this in the context of Vietnamese enterprises through their research results. - Role of financial sector The influence of the financial sector explains that financial measures play an important role and have a strong influence on the measurement of management effectiveness. Especially when the role of management accounting is enhanced, the extent of its influence on the change in business governance is significant. One of the most important aspects of the BSC model is financial indicators, which are the end result, as a result of other indicators. Thus, when there is an abnormal change from the financial indicators, there is certainly a change in the indicators from other aspects, which means that there must have necessary adjustment in one or more specific activities of departments in the business. It can be said that these are the most important indicators and are mentioned first in the BSC. If strategies are specified by financial indicators, specific measures and measures, it is easy for financial departments in the enterprise to carry out their work. Therefore, if the financial sector in the enterprise is strong enough, it will have a positive influence on the success of the BSC model. 5.2. Limitations Like other studies, there exist a number of limitations in this research: First is a limitation on research samples. Quantitative research employs a (non- probabilistic) judgment method, focusing primarily on enterprises in the VNR500 ranking list. The sample size used in the analysis was limited to 68 respondents. However, the number of samples is still very low, showing a certain limitation on the sample. Second is a limitation on data collection methods. In the quantitative study, the method of collecting information was conducted through questionnaires and online answers. This method is fairly common in Vietnam yet its response rate is not as high as expected (15,70%), which has had a certain impact on the results of the study. Third is limitations in data processing. One out of six variables were removed from the model. In addition, the authors failed to analyze the research results by sectors, scales and scope of application. The study model has explained 44.1% of variation in the dependent variable. This implies that 55.9% of the factors other than the model influence the success of the BSC, which is not mentioned in the model. BSC is one of the most influential management instruments of the 20th century. Being first developed in 1992 by Robert S. Kaplan and David Norton, the research on BSC remains very narrow compared to other management models, especially in the specific environment and condition of Vietnamese enterprises. Therefore, the research orientation on the BSC is quite diverse. Based on the results of the study and the shown limitations, the authors propose two further studies. Specifically, (1) In-depth research by sectors, 947
14. fields of activity: This way is quite common in developed countries where the level of BSC application is high. In the time to come, as the number of Vietnamese enterprises applying the BSC grows, in-depth research by sectors, fields of activity is very important and can be more accurate. Identification of influencing factors may be more comprehensive, and the explanatory meaning of the research model will be more reasonable than the results of the current article. (2) Research on the effectiveness of BSC application: This is probably the most expected research orientation for scholars as well as for managers. However, as mentioned above, the big obstacle is that the number of samples is not enough since the number of Vietnamese enterprises using the BSC model is limited. In the coming time, when the number of large-scale application of the company, this research direction will become more feasible. 5.3 Recommendations Based on the study results, the authors have provided a number of recommendations as follows: First, businesses should have a clear understanding of the BSC. Scorecards should be designed to clearly and specifically describe the strategies to meet the goals and vision of the business. If the linkages and goals are clearly stated, so that each and everyone in the business can understand them, the BSC is likely to succeed. Second, to make the BSC achieve success, managers need high determination and assurance to support the team during the implementation process. It should be managers who can communicate and deliver the benefits BSC brings to the business. Implementing BSC is not a simple process, many difficulties may hinder the success of the BSC. Managers, therefore, need absolute trust in the BSC and support the team when everything changes in the negative direction. Managers should believe in their decisions and persuade the whole business to adopt this model. Once those are done, the application of the BSC may be more fruitful. Third, it is necessary to build a strong financial department. For BSC in particular and all activities in businesses in general, the activities will run more smoothly and effectively when the financial department asserts their voice and strength. For that reason, businesses need to pay more attention to the financial department and consider it a solid rear in their operations. In order to boost the effective application of BSC model in Vietnam, besides the efforts of businesses, it is also important that the State consider enacting appropriate macro policies to complement and create resonance to accelerate the application of this model. REFERENCES 1. Abedalqabah and Ashraf Batainch, 2016, Factors Influencing Balanced Scorecard Implementation, Research Journal of Finance and Accounting Vol.7 No.2, 2016. 2. Allison Paul, 1999, Comparing Logit and Probit Coefficients Across Groups, 3. Sociological Methods and Research 28. 4. Braam' G.J.M. and Nijssen' E.J, 2008, Exploring the antecedents of balanced scorecard 948
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