Strategic responses to Performance Measurement in Nonprofit ...

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distribution of the data the factor analysis produced unsatisfactory results which did not meet
the necessary quality criteria.
It proved to be a challenge for the qualitative study to find German non-profit organisations
which had implemented the balanced scorecard (Greiling 2010). But then a balanced
scorecard working group from the German Society for Management Accounting in Social
Service Organisations helped to find 20 interview partners in the areas of social services and
healthcare. Altogether 24 persons agreed to being interviewed. Four interviews were not
included in the presentation of results as the balanced scorecard implementation was only
envisaged for the future. Further even, in these four cases the planning was in the very early
stages and the management teams willingness to participate in the study was motivated by the
expectation to get some unpaid consultancy.
Three quarters of the remaining 20 interviewees preferred a telephone interview which lasted
between 30 to 45 minutes. In those cases where the interviewer and the interviewed met
personally the interviews normally took an hour to an hour and a half. Some organisations
provided additional internal, undisclosed information material.
Most of the interviewees were the chief executive (18 cases). The other two were the chief
financial officers. The participating non-profit organisations had the following focus: one in
the field of health care, three provided care for the elderly, four youth care, eight specialized
on care for persons with disabilities and the remaining four operated in more than one area.
Ten of the participation organisations interviewed had an annual turnover of more than EUR
10 million and five more than 1,000 full-time employees. There was a clear dominance of
large non-profits with the notable exception of one which had less than 20 employees. In this
particular case, the balanced scorecard was brought to the organisation‟s attention by the
partner of a board member who was a top manager in the German automotive industry
(Greiling 2010).