Abstract:
This paper explores how a balanced scorecard (BSC) has been successfully implemented
and institutionalised in a leading telecommunications company in Sri Lanka (Telinotec)
through improvements over two phases (pre 2012 and post 2012). It adopts a qualitative
methodology and case study approach and is founded upon the theoretical underpinnings of
institutional theory, more specifically the institutionalisation model of Tolbert and Zucker
(1996). The findings suggest that while the BSC was implemented in 2000, improvements via
linking it to individual performance and the corporate strategy were done after 2012. This
paper contributes to literature by illuminating how the BSC was initiated (habitualisation),
translated into practice (objectification) and institutionalised (sedimentation) in a firm and
offers insights to practitioners on making management accounting tools successful by
continuously modifying to match managers’ expectations and the context of the firm.
