Research On Corporate IT Performance Evaluation Based On Balanced Scorecard

Investments in IT are growing extensively,but 'IT black hole' problem is concerned by business managers that the benefits of IT investments might not be as high as expected.Traditional IT evaluation methods need monetary values;problem emerges when they are applied to information systems,which often generate intangible benefits such as better customer service.Multicriteria evaluation methods may solve this problem because they account for tangible and intangible impacts.The Balanced Scorecard,BSC,which was initially developed on the enterprise level by David Kaplan and Robert Norton,is a performance management system that enables businesses to drive strategies based on measurement and follow-up.The idea behind the BSC is that the evaluation of a firm should not be restricted to the traditional financial measures but should be supplemented with a mission,objectives and measures regarding customer satisfaction,internal processes, and the ability to innovate and prepare for the future.The objectives and measures of a BSC can be used as a cornerstone of a management system that uncovers and communicates strategies,establishes long-term strategic targets,aligns initiatives, allocates long- and short-term resources and finally provides feedback and learning about the strategies.In recent years,BSC has been widely applied to IT projects,IT investments and even entire IT departments in order to ensure that IT is fairly evaluated. In this paper,a Web Service BSC framework is developed to match potential benefits of Web services technology with corporate strategy.It is argued that the benefits of implementing strategic IT project,such as Web services,can only be realized if the Web services initiatives are planned and implemented within the framework of an IT strategy that is designed to support the business strategy of a firm.