Author(s): Silva, Alexandre ; Cardim, Sofia ; Leite, Joaquim
Date: 2025
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10198/35152
Origin: Biblioteca Digital do IPB
Subject(s): Management control; Balanced Scorecard (BSC); Water technology; Technology development and transfer centres
Aligning strategic, operational, and technical priorities is critical for effective governance in Research and Development (R&D) organisations, especially those engaged in technology transfer and innovation. This article explores the development and application of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as a structured performance monitoring tool for a Portuguese Centre for the Valorisation and Transfer of Water Technology. Situated within the national network of technological interface centres, the research investigates how the BSC, supplemented by a strategic map, can support integrated management control by aligning organisational efforts with strategic goals. The study employs a qualitative case study methodology, with empirical data collected through three semi-structured interviews involving the centre’s CEO and two mid-level managers. The content analysis of interview transcripts enabled the identification of fourteen strategic objectives and their respective indicators, which were systematically mapped across the BSC’s four perspectives and interlinked through causal relationships. The results underscore the BSC’s potential to improve internal strategic coherence and monitoring capacity and to attend as a transferable framework for other public or private research centres facing similar challenges. The study offers both practical comprehensions for institutional management and conceptual contributions to the literature on performance management in the context of science, technology, and innovation.
