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Configuring management control systems: theorizing the integration of strategy and sustainability

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posted on 2014-05-22, 08:58 authored by Jean-Pascal Gond, Suzana GrubnicSuzana Grubnic, Christian Herzig, Jeremy Moon
Although organizations have embraced the sustainability rhetoric in their discourse and external reporting, little is known about the processes whereby management control systems contribute to a deeper integration of sustainability within organizational strategy. This paper addresses this gap and mobilizes a configuration approach to theorize the roles and uses of management control systems (MCSs) and sustainability control systems (SCSs) in the integration of sustainability within organizational strategy. Building on Simons' levers of control framework, we distinguish two possible uses of a MCS and a SCS-a diagnostic use and an interactive use-and we specify the modes of MCSs and SCSs integration. We rely on these two core dimensions to identify eight organizational configurations that reflect the various uses as well as their modes of integration of SCS and MCS. We characterize these ideal-type configurations, explain their impact on the triple bottom line, and describe which mechanisms allow organizations to move from one configuration to another. In so doing, we highlight various paths toward sustainability integration or marginalization within organizations. Finally, we explain how our framework can support future research on the role of MCS and SCSs in the integration of sustainability within strategy. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

History

School

  • Business and Economics

Department

  • Business

Citation

GOND, J. ... et al., 2012, Configuring management control systems: theorizing the integration of strategy and sustainability. Management Accounting Research, 23 (3), pp. 205 - 223.

Publisher

© Elsevier Ltd.

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Publication date

2012

Notes

This article was published in the journal, Management Accounting Research [© Elsevier Ltd.] and the definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mar.2012.06.003

ISSN

1044-5005

Language

  • en