The Role of the SBSC in Sustainability Value Creation

The growing strategic importance of issues related to sustainability and connected performance measures has stimulated interest regarding the relationship between sustainability dimensions and PMSs. Many organizations have started to implement sustainable management systems; however, they are rarely adequately integrated into the companies' strategy. Consequently, environmental and social dimensions have often been disconnected from financial performance, leaving the contribution made by this economic success unclear. The decisive role of companies in achieving sustainability has been emphasized and discussed at both strategic and operational levels. In this context, one of the most relevant strategic system that has received enormous consideration by researchers and practitioners is the SBSC. This tool aims to integrate all business levels inside the company, translating strategies into goals and specific KPIs. The SBSC, in fact, has often been associated with sustainability in an attempt to integrate it with organizational performance. In the literature, several researchers used the SBSC in different fields in order to improve a company's strategy. To this end, the tool can be considered very useful to capture different dimensions in strategy implementation and therefore could be an effective system to promote sustainability culture in businesses.

Several authors highlight how the SBSC can be structured in order to affect company performance, with particular attention paid to the set of KPIs to select. The literature has largely contributed, and continues to contribute, to highlighting the role of the SBSC for integrating strategy with CSR. Particular attention is needed to select the appropriate KPIs, which is one of the most problematic issues in implementing an efficient sustainability system. According to Hristov et al., the traditional structure of the tool can be modified by considering a new basic dimension, called critical, that includes all critical aspects connected to the SBSC. The authors also consider criticism connected to sustainability dimensions, suggesting that they can be considered into a strategy according to a new perspective by modifying the structure of the SBSC as an Adjusted Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (ASBSC).