The Trend and Implication of Japanese Researches onm BSC(Balanced Scorecard) : Focus on the BSC Framework

Balanced Scorecard(BSC)is a well-known strategic management system that was developed in the U.S. by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton. A number of researches have been conducted and published since BSC was introduced in Japan in the late 199Os. The above researches can be categorized as those conducted in the following three areas: the framework of BSC, application of BSC in some companies, and empirical studies. This paper reviews the researches on the BSC framework. The composition of this paper is as follows. First, it reviews the trend of researches by Kaplan and Norton. Next, it categorizes Japanese researches on the BSC framework into several subjects, reviewing the trends and features of each. This study finds that there are many researches based on studies conducted on the following three topics: disputes involving the causal-effect relationships, which are important components of BSC, relationships and links with the existing management tools in Japan, such as Hoshin Managememt (Hoshin Kanri in Japanese), MBO(Management by Objective), and the diversification of the BSC system