PurposeThe aim of this paper is to debate various critical issues in the implementation and use of the balanced scorecard (BSC) as a management control tool. Because there is no self‐evident solution to these critical issues, they are termed dilemmas.Design/methodology/approachThe paper contributes to the BSC debate by collecting insights from empirical findings, as well as exploring various theoretical aspects.FindingsAfter presenting four perceived dilemmas and how they affect the implementation and use of the BSC in various settings, the paper concludes that there is a need for further debate and research on these dilemmas.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is primarily a contribution to the debate concerning the balanced scorecard and its range of application as a management control model.Practical implicationsThe paper is motivated by an overall high rate of implementation failure in various practical settings.Originality/valueSome of the problems described have been debated before, whereas others are new. However, there has been hardly any discussion of the dilemmas in conjunction with one another. The paper is an attempt to generate important new questions about the future implementation and use of the BSC.

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