Abstract—As current business environment is demanding a constant adaptation of companies, the planning and strategic management should be an ongoing and natural process in all kind of organizations. The use of management and monitoring strategic performance tools such as the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) have been popular; even to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. This paper aims to investigate whether the BSC is being used in monitoring the performance of small businesses, particularly in small fuel retailers companies, which are competing in co-branding; and if not, it aims to identify its strategic orientation in order to recommend a possible strategy map for those managers that are willing to adopt this model as an alternative to traditional ones for organizational performance evaluation, which often focus only on evaluation of the organizational financial performance. Keywords—Balanced Scorecard, Performance Management and Evaluation, SMEs, Strategy Maps I. INTRODUCTION OR several decades performance measurement systems have been used as an information tool for evaluating internal departmental procedures and decision-making at the budgeting level [1]. Since it emerged, in the nineties of XX century, the Balanced Scorecard (hereinafter BSC) has raised several surveys and research on its applicability. This methodology is one of the most used as organizational performance monitoring process. It is a system for measuring and monitoring business performance, with a comprehensive field of vision, composed by short and long term and also financial and nonfinancial indicators as well as internal and external indicators that reflect the critical factors of an organization and its relationship with strategy [2]. There are lot of research about the implementation of performance measurement models for large corporations with complex management systems and hierarchical organization. However, the BSC as philosophy and model for organizational performance measurement and strategy management monitoring is very useful and adaptable to Small and Medium- sized Enterprises (SMEs). One can appoint several reasons for the success and advantages of implementation of BSC in SMEs but also some difficulties and barrier to not succeed. Ana Paula Monte is with School of Technology and Management (ESTiG) of Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), Campus de Sta. Apolónia, ap. 1134, 5301-857 Bragança - Portugal and NECE- UBI - Center for Studies in Business of University of Beira Interior 1 - Covilhã - Portugal (corresponding author - mobile: 00-351-919.52.2075; phone: 00-351-273.303.102; fax: 00- 351-273.313.051; e-mail: apmonte@ ipb.pt). Christiane Fontenete , was with School of Technology and Management (ESTiG) of Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Campus de Sta. Apolónia, ap. 1134, 5301-857 Bragança Portugal. (e-mail: cnfontenete@hotmail.com). 1 R&D Centre funded by the Multiannual Funding Programme of R&D Centres of FCT – Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, Ministry of Education and Science In this paper, it is intended to determine, through a survey by questionnaire, if the small and medium fuel retail companies, i.e. small gas stations, fuel dealers’ brand GASPE, are using BSC or any system of performance measurement and evaluation that somehow comes close to this management tool and what perspectives its managers give more relevance. It is also aim of this research to identify the strategic direction of these companies, or if the various companies that are part of this research follow a uniform strategy or identify different categories. In addition, using these results, one intends to suggest a suitable strategic map to them. This research seems to be unique as it is applied to SMEs that are competing under co-branding, that do not have to follow the same strategy and do not explicit use a formal performance management system but most of them consider it relevant. The majority of research published usually relies on surveys on sectors or is a case study on a single corporate. In the case presented here is a case study on small companies that uses the same brand marketing but do not have to follow strictly the same strategy and are not homogeneous. By this way is intention of the researchers to suggest to these managers strategy maps and a recommended BSC model that can orient them in the implementation of this tool, after some adaption to its own corporation (based on data collected in this survey). The paper is organized as follows: starts by addressing the BSC, its perspectives, indicators and performance drivers. It follows a brief approach to the BSC as a tool for strategic monitoring, particularly in SMEs. Section 4 describes the methodology adopted, in particular the questionnaire, followed by the presentation and analysis of results of the survey, describing very briefly the proposed strategy maps. Finally, concludes with highlighting the main findings and some suggestions for future research. II. THE PERSPECTIVES, INDICATORS AND PERFORMANCE DRIVERS OF BALANCED SCORECARD The BSC is a management tool for assessing organizational performance, built on the concept that companies, based on the definition of its mission and vision, should be evaluated in four major perspectives: financial, customer, internal processes and learning and growth. Each of these perspectives attempts to answer the following questions [2], [3]: (a) To be succeeded financially how should we appear to our shareholders or partners? - Financial perspective - which intends to define and evaluate goals related to the satisfaction of key stakeholders of the company, namely its owners. Some of the general objectives used in this perspective are profitability and improving productivity, turnover growth (diversification and increase) and value creation; (b) To achieve our vision how should we appear to our customers? - customers/market perspective - which targets should be set to meet customer needs in order to achieve the Small Gas Stations in Portugal F Balanced Scorecard in SMEs – A Proposal for Ana Paula Monte, Christiane Fontenete World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Economics and Management Engineering Vol:6, No:6, 2012 1083 International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 6(6) 2012 scholar.waset.org/1307-6892/3645 International Science Index, Economics and Management Engineering Vol:6, No:6, 2012 waset.org/Publication/3645