A review of the article on “Balanced scorecard in the hospitality and tourism industry”

A review of the article on “Balanced scorecard in the hospitality and tourism industry”

 

 

How to present this article in Harvard reference format?

Fatima, T. & Elbanna, S., 2020. Balanced scorecard in the hospitality and tourism industry: Past, present and future. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 91, p.102656. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102656 [Accessed date].

Make sure to replace "[Accessed date]" with the date you accessed the article.

 

What are the key research issues the article wants to address?

The article addresses several key research issues related to the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) in the hospitality and tourism industry, including:

1.              Gap in BSC Research within Hospitality and Tourism: Despite the increasing interest and widespread use of the Balanced Scorecard since its introduction in 1992, there is limited research specifically focused on its application in the hospitality and tourism industry. The article aims to fill this significant gap by reviewing and analyzing BSC research in this sector.

2.              Multidimensional Nature of Performance Measurement: The article highlights that traditional performance measurement tends to focus heavily on financial indicators, which is limiting. It stresses the need for a more balanced approach, as offered by the BSC, which includes multiple perspectives beyond finance, reflecting the complex nature of organizational performance in hospitality and tourism.

3.              Evaluation of BSC Adoption and Implementation: One major research issue is to understand how BSC is adopted and implemented in hospitality and tourism organizations. The article notes that existing research is mostly exploratory and calls for more in-depth studies, particularly to investigate challenges causing delayed or failed implementations.

4.              Effectiveness of BSC as a Performance Measurement Tool: The article identifies the need to assess whether the BSC actually delivers on its promises in the hospitality and tourism context, such as helping managers translate and communicate strategy effectively, and enhancing overall organizational performance.

5.              Sustainability Integration into BSC: Given the rising importance of sustainable tourism, a key issue is how sustainability can be incorporated into the BSC framework, either within the traditional four perspectives or as a standalone perspective, such as in the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) .

6.              Research Trends for Future Exploration: The article suggests future research should explore areas such as new tourism management concepts, the causal relationships among BSC perspectives, and the dynamic factors influencing BSC adoption and implementation in the hospitality and tourism industry .

In summary, the article focuses on bridging the knowledge gap regarding BSC’s adoption, implementation, effectiveness, and integration of sustainability in the hospitality and tourism industry, while proposing avenues for future research to enhance performance measurement and strategic management practices in this sector.

Describe two main theories employed in this article.

The article primarily employs the following two main theoretical frameworks:

1.              Balanced Scorecard (BSC) Theory: The core theoretical foundation of the article is the Balanced Scorecard framework, originally introduced by Kaplan and Norton in 1992. BSC serves as a multidimensional performance measurement and strategic management system that goes beyond traditional financial metrics by incorporating multiple perspectives—typically financial, customer, internal business processes, and learning and growth—to provide a balanced view of organizational performance. The article explores the evolution of BSC from a mere performance measurement tool into a comprehensive strategic management system and its applicability specifically to the hospitality and tourism industry, focusing on its adoption, implementation, effectiveness, and modifications such as the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC).

2.              Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) Theory: The article also discusses the extension of the traditional BSC by integrating the concept of sustainability into the framework. The SBSC incorporates environmental and social dimensions either within the existing four perspectives or as a standalone perspective, reflecting the growing significance of sustainability in organizational strategy, especially in hospitality and tourism. This theoretical adaptation acknowledges the triple bottom line approach (economic, social, and environmental performance) and aims to facilitate organizations in aligning sustainability objectives with overall strategy and performance measures.

These two theories underpin the analysis and discussion of BSC trends, challenges, and future research directions within the hospitality and tourism industry as examined in the article.

 

Highlight 2 main primary findings reported in this article.

Two main primary findings reported in the article are:

1.              Limited but Growing Research on BSC in Hospitality and Tourism with Four Key Trends: The study found that although Balanced Scorecard (BSC) research in the hospitality and tourism industry is comparatively limited—only 37 out of 106 empirical studies—it is gradually increasing. The research in this industry primarily revolves around four main trends: (a) BSC adoption and implementation, (b) integration of sustainability with BSC (Sustainability BSC), (c) antecedents and consequences of BSC usage, and (d) use of BSC as a foundational framework for performance measurement. Unlike general business sectors where BSC adoption and implementation dominate recent research, the hospitality and tourism sector has seen prominent use of BSC primarily as a framework for developing performance measurement tools, particularly in the earlier stages of research.

2.              Need for Industry-Specific and Sustainability-Inclusive BSC Frameworks: The article highlights that the hospitality and tourism industry's unique characteristics—labor-intensive operations, reliance on human resources, intangible assets, and service inconsistency—necessitate tailored BSC frameworks that incorporate non-financial measures, including employee and customer performance dimensions. Additionally, there is emerging research focusing on Sustainability Balanced Scorecards (SBSC) within the industry, where environmental and social perspectives are either incorporated within traditional BSC perspectives or treated as standalone aspects. This reflects the industry's growing emphasis on sustainable tourism and the demand for performance measurement systems that align with sustainability goals.

These findings point to both the evolving adoption of BSC in the hospitality and tourism industry and the critical importance of developing customized and sustainability-oriented BSC models to effectively manage and measure performance in this sector.

 

Describe 3 main claims of the article in terms of Toulmin's model of argument.

Using Toulmin’s model of argument (which includes Claim, Grounds, Warrant, Backing, Qualifier, and Rebuttal), three main claims of the article can be described as follows:

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1.              Claim 1: The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is an important yet under-researched strategic management tool in the hospitality and tourism industry.

·                  Grounds: The article’s systematic review identified only 37 empirical studies focusing on BSC in hospitality and tourism out of 106 total empirical BSC studies across business and management disciplines. This shows limited research despite the industry’s specific needs and importance  .

·                  Warrant: The hospitality and tourism industry is labor-intensive with complex stakeholder relationships requiring comprehensive performance measurement systems, which BSC can provide.

·                  Backing: Previous literature (Phillips and Louvieris, 2005; Elbanna et al., 2015) has emphasized the need for more tailored performance tools in this industry.

·                  Qualifier: While BSC is increasingly studied generally, the hospitality and tourism sector still lags behind in its adoption and research attention.

·                  Rebuttal: Some sectors within tourism still lack proper application of BSC, and awareness among practitioners remains low.

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2.              Claim 2: Integrating sustainability into the Balanced Scorecard framework (creating a Sustainability Balanced Scorecard, SBSC) is essential for advancing performance measurement in hospitality and tourism.

·                  Grounds: The review highlights growing but still emerging research on sustainability incorporated into BSC either within the existing perspectives or as stand-alone perspectives (SBSC), with conceptual and exploratory studies increasing in recent years  .

·                  Warrant: Sustainability concerns are critical in hospitality and tourism given their environmental and social impacts, and thus performance measurement must include these dimensions.

·                  Backing: Scholars like Hansen and Schaltegger (2018) and Hubbard (2009) support the importance of sustainability in BSC to reflect broader organizational goals.

·                  Qualifier: Current research is still limited and largely exploratory, indicating a need for further empirical studies.

·                  Rebuttal: Incorporation of sustainability poses challenges in measurement and requires continuous refinement of BSC frameworks.

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3.              Claim 3: Future research needs to focus on assessing the effectiveness of BSC adoption and implementation in the hospitality and tourism industry through longitudinal and empirical studies.

·                  Grounds: The article discusses identified gaps regarding evaluating whether BSC delivers on its promises and how long-term adoption impacts organizational performance and stakeholder management .

·                  Warrant: Understanding the actual impact and challenges of BSC implementation is vital to encourage wider and more effective use in this industry.

·                  Backing: Prior critiques note BSC implementation is complex and time-consuming and often delayed; yet longitudinal case studies can provide deeper insights (Papalexandris et al., 2004; Bartlett et al., 2014).

·                  Qualifier: While many exploratory studies exist, few have rigorously tested BSC effectiveness over time in hospitality and tourism settings.

·                  Rebuttal: Implementation challenges and organizational variability may limit generalization of findings, but targeted studies would still contribute substantially.

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These claims form the backbone of the article’s argument for advancing Balanced Scorecard research in hospitality and tourism, emphasizing the industry's specific needs, the role of sustainability, and the call for empirical validation of BSC effectiveness.

 

Describe 2 main research limitations of the study.

The article identifies the following two main research limitations:

1.              Limited Scope of Industry-Specific Research: Despite the systematic review’s comprehensive search, the number of high-quality empirical studies on Balanced Scorecard (BSC) in the hospitality and tourism industry remains relatively small (only 37 studies out of 106). This limited scope restricts the generalizability and depth of conclusions specific to hospitality and tourism, indicating a research gap in this sector.

2.              Predominance of Exploratory and Conceptual Research: Much of the existing BSC research, especially concerning sustainability and hospitality and tourism, is largely exploratory or conceptual in nature rather than empirical and longitudinal. This limits the ability to draw strong causal inferences about BSC adoption, implementation effectiveness, and its strategic impact over time in the industry.

These limitations suggest the need for more rigorous, empirical, and longitudinal studies focused on hospitality and tourism contexts to better understand BSC’s application and outcomes in this sector.