“A Balanced Scorecard framework for an Italian dairy cooperative: a pilot study”

How may an Italian dairy cooperative implement a Balanced Scorecard in orter to improve its economic, financial and social performance and to increase its competitive advantage? In this study we face the performance management issues of the particulare, but typical, input-supplier coopertatives, in qhich members provide an input to a cooperative processors. This is the case of dairy cooperatives or more in general agricultural cooperatives. The paper presents a pilot project of Balanced Scorecard for a dairy cooperative, that could be proposed as a framework to plan, control and assess the cooperative's contribution to achieve economic and social goals. The research is based upon a case study and, therefore, is not intended as generalizable. The findings report that even though the cooperative did not formally use the BSC, its planning and management control system was aligned to all the BSC framework and Strategy Map building blocks: objectives, measures, targets and initiatives, so that the traditional BSC would have required only few amendments in order to be adapted to the characteristics of the organisation. The study also intends to contribute to the understanding og the strategic information needs of cooperative organizations and the way in which information can be organised and communicated to develop an effective and efficient decision-making process.