Title: Measuring performance of social network-based virtual community: a balanced scorecard approach

Authors: Bih-Ru Lea

Addresses: Department of Business and Information Technology, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65409, USA

Abstract: The objectives of this research are to propose a general framework and to illustrate development process of a balanced scorecard (BSC) performance management system for a non-profit seeking social network-based virtual community. Examples are used to derive a coherent set of strategies, objectives and measures to support the mission of the selected virtual community. The proposed framework augments the traditional social network performance measures by measuring performance from four different perspectives (customer, internal business process, value creation and learning and growth) for a more comprehensive view of the virtual community and by including means for continuous improvement. The proposed BSC performance management system allows the management to track the progress with selected measures, to monitor and articulate the value of the community delivers, to assess the performance of the network and to suggest improvements.

Keywords: social networks; networking; virtual communities; balanced scorecards; performance management; web based communities; online communities; internet; world wide web; performance measurement; non-profit organisations; customers; internal business processes; value creation; learning; growth; continuous improvement; progress tracking; systems research.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBSR.2011.039297

International Journal of Business and Systems Research, 2011 Vol.5 No.3, pp.281 - 304

Published online: 17 Apr 2015 *

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