The Mediating Role of Balanced Scorecard in the Relationship Between Strategic Planning and Competitive Advantage

Abstract

This study tried to highlight the mediating role of balanced scorecard (BSC) in the relationship between strategic planning and competitive advantage in the Sudanese banking sector. The main objective of the study is to measure the level of adoption of strategic planning and its effects on competitive advantage and reveal the BSC in banks and addresses the problem of the linkage between strategies and control systems, by ensuring that all of the strategic objectives and measures inherent to it are derived from an organization’s vision and its resulting strategy to gain and sustain competitive advantage. The absence of a well-defined strategic planning for a cohesive performance measuring system that encompasses equally quantitative and qualitative variables obviously represents an obstacle to be resolved. Otherwise, the process of linking and appraising the strategy implementation with its goals to attain and sustain competitive advantage becomes worthless. This study is correlational, methodology adopted the descriptive analytical method; hypotheses were tested using factor analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient to establish the significance of relationship between the various variables used in measuring competitive advantage. Cross sectional survey research method questionnaire was adopted for the study and (238) respondents including Banks general and deputy managers, and middle management of the Sudanese banks. Data analysis procedures were done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences program (SPSS version 22) for data analysis to find out Alpha Cronbach, mean, standard deviation, correlation and multi regression. Correlation analysis results indicate the existence of a strong relationship between strategic planning and banks’ competitive advantage, which is consistent and agreed with some past studies. Findings revealed that strategic planning has statistical correlation and positive impact on banks’ competitive advantage. Finally the study introduced some recommendations and suggestions for the banks and financial institutions and economic sector, and future studies. Key words: Strategic planning, Strategy, External environment, Constituent components Empirical study, Balanced Scorecard, Performance, competitive advantage.