Relevance of Non-Financial Indicators as a Decision Tool: A French Inquiry Based on the Organizational Architecture Theory

摘要

In this article, we present the evolution of management accounting and the strategic management accounting (SMA)concept. The balanced scorecard (BSC), a SMA tool, is quite famous in European countries. Its principle objective is to articulate planning decisions with control ones thanks to non-financial indicators. Contractual theories constitute the foundations of this tool.But in Northern Europe, some specific BSC are designed in the framework of knowledge-based theories. We describe here the results of an inquiry conducted in France. Its aims are mainly: (1)To test the usefulness of non-financial indicators in driving firm's objectives; (2) To test the link between the use of non-financial indicators and the performance. We demonstrate that the French managers associate non-financial indicators with strategic objectives. But we also conclude that they believe that there is no direct link between the use of non-financial metrics and the performance.