Studies exploring such issues may deepen our understanding of how the BSC is
implicated in regulatory processes and take research well beyond Kaplan and Norton’s
(2004) view of such processes as just another aspect of organizational performance to
be “managed” through the selection of appropriate performance indicators. However,
such research needs to be extended considerably beyond what has thus far been
customary. One reason why so little is known about the wider political ramifications of
the BSC beyond individual organizations is that research on this topic has relied nearly
exclusively on publically available data sources, such as policy documents and
inquiries, and only offers superficial and speculative insights into the “behind the
scenes” processes of devising sector-specific performance measurement frameworks.
Analyses of such processes can be enriched considerably by interviews with a broader
range of actors with a stake in the development of performance measurement (Modell,
2005). Interviews can add can dour to the often rationalized and stylized representations of influential innovations, such as the BSC, in policy documents and enable researchers to ask probing questions concerning their specific roles in the development of governance practices. Such extended investigations are likely to provide deeper insights into how some actors devise strategies for promoting emerging performance measurement frameworks as well as how the permutation of such frameworks
into more or less BSC-like templates unfolds as a result of being negotiated with
a broader range of stakeholders (including organizations adopting and experimenting with such innovations). This brings us full circle back to examining the political
processes implicated in the dissemination and diffusion of performance measurement
frameworks within specific societal sectors.