# Supply Chain Management Maturity and Business Performance: The Balanced Scorecard Perspective
## 1 Introduction  
Supply chain management (SCM) and its development as a bundle of highly integrated processes [1], which can be clearly defined, managed, measured, and controlled over time [2], have become a managerial strategy that many companies are implementing to enhance their competitiveness [3]. It represents a new way of operating that includes integration between internal operations and external suppliers such that organizations can improve cost management, product development, cycle times, and total quality control [4]. It has an important role in the contemporary economy, especially considering Industry 4.0 practices [5], sustainability [6, 7], and the establishment of a green supply chain [8].  
A maturity approach to SCM provides managers with a map and provides guidance on which path to follow [9]. Understanding maturity and its role in SCM can help organizations achieve higher levels of performance, but also generate additional value along the value chain (both upstream and downstream), consecutively boosting service levels [10]. Still, too often, managers do not always comprehend all the potential benefits an SCM and its development can have for overall organizational performance or neglect all relevant aspects of business performance [11].  
The relationship between supply chain management maturity (SCMM) and firm performance is still not fully explored. Many authors provide a systemic overview of theexisting theoretical models [12], indicating that higher maturity leads to higher performance, or, in their empirical analysis on the influence of SCMM on performance, focus on one aspect of performance, and mostly financial performance at that [11].  
This paper aims to provide a more comprehensive view of SCMM's effects on business performance by applying a balanced scorecard (BSC) perspective to performance analysis. This hierarchical, balanced set of performance metrics allows us to assess performance from multiple perspectives, namely, from the financial, customer, innovation and learning, and internal processes perspectives [13]. To the best of our knowledge, the existing research on the relationship between SCM and business performance has only been conducted on samples of companies in developed economies; thus, performing an analysis of Bosnia and Herzegovinian (BIH) companies at the national level can help further develop this area of study, especially as similar research was not found in the region and other less developed countries. In addition, one of the conclusions of a bibliometric analysis of papers carried out in this field suggests that the development of the subject in less-developed countries may constitute a useful tool that can be used to increase the competitiveness of organizations in these countries [14].  
Therefore, this paper explores the relationship between the SCMM of organizations in BIH and their business performance measured by the BSC framework. Using the BSC framework allows for the evaluation of various perspectives of organizational activities within the supply chain and their integral contribution to business performance [15]. We presume that SCMM positively relates to business performance from the financial, customer, innovation, learning, and internal processes perspectives. The business environment and dynamics of change cannot be neglected; therefore, industry characteristics are also considered. It is presumed that the industry characteristics (technological dynamism and the level of state support) have a moderating effect on the strength of the relationship between SCMM and business performance assessed through the BSC perspective.