Mutti case: using the balanced scorecard to link results to value drivers

Mutti SpA is an internationally renowned Italian company operating in the tomato-processing sector. In spring 2019, the CFO was struggling with understanding the underlying reasons for the company's results, due to a strong complexity characterizing both Mutti as an organization and the sector in which the company operates. The one dimensionality of the performance measurement system and its sole focus on the accurate representation of results was not suitable to represent a strategy that by its very nature includes different dimensions of business activity. Following the suggestion of a fellow friend and academic professional, the CFO therefore decides to implement a performance management tool developed in the late 90s and since then successfully adopted by many firms: the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). Financial and non-financial measures of the scorecard are derived the organization's vision and strategy and they view performance from four perspectives: financial, customer, internal processes and learning and growth. The design of the new dashboard necessitates a balanced, multidimensional, integrated set of measures. Therefore, the CFO together with the management control team starts to map all the indicators measured in the company. Next, it is necessary to select among all the ones identified a narrow and coherent set of measures that are most relevant because directly linked to the firm's strategy.