The barriers and drivers of environmental management accounting practices' adoption in developed and developing countries for sustainable development

Abstract

Barriers and drivers of environmental management accounting practices' (EMAPs) adoption were compared between developed and developing countries. This may assist to promote adoption of EMAPs by targeting and overcoming applicable barriers while promoting drivers that are specific to their circumstances, leading to sustainable development ultimately. Methodology: A qualitative, six-step systematic literature review (SLR) using ATLAS.ti 8 were employed. Four interdependent theories (institutional, contingency, legitimacy, and stakeholder) framed the SLR. Findings: developed countries have strong institutions that exert institutional isomorphic pressure on organisations to adopt EMAPs while developing countries with weaker institutions are hindered by low isomorphic pressure. Moreover, mimetic, and normative forces and contingent factors played a greater role in the adoption of EMAPs in developed countries, less important for developing countries. The findings may inform management who would want to enhance the environmental performance and sustainable development of their organisations and furthermore assist policymakers in developed and developing countries as they pursue environmental sustainability which is key to attaining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and Africa's Agenda 2063. Past studies investigated drivers and barriers in different countries however they did not distinguish between developed and developing countries. Since developed and developing countries have unique circumstances, this distinction exposes the different barriers and drivers.

Environmental Management Accounting Implementation Challenges and Supply Chain Management in Emerging Economies’ Manufacturing Sector

“…EMA has become an essential component in the decision-making process in management accounting, particularly within the complex SCMSs that result from many forces, including globalisation, recognition of dimensions of sustainability, and cost-effective transportation channels [33]. While the link between EMA and sustainable supply chain management continued to receive academic attention in the past decades [34], progress in implementing EMAPs in developing countries, particularly Africa, continues to gain momentum, with many scholars showing interest [17,20,22].…”

“…The association between EMA and supply chain management has created a debate in the manufacturing sector, with many studies alluding to the fact that EMAPs improve environmental and financial performance [35,36]. However, several studies have identified barriers to implementing EMAPs in general [2,17]. According to [6], a systematic review of barriers to adopting EMA in small Chinese companies identified a lack of regulatory pressures and fewer expectations from the various stakeholders as barriers.…”

“…Furthermore, under-reporting of sustainability issues; lack of agreement on performance measures [12,13]; lack of resources, knowledge, and government support [14,15]; failure to allocate environmental cost; and inaccurate environmental costing [16] were also identified. According to [17], developing economies face many barriers to implementing EMAPs, such as a lack of institutional and stakeholder pressures, inadequate technological capabilities, and non-compliance with local government regulations. Therefore, without exploring other approaches to enhance EMA's implementation in the manufacturing sector, achieving sustainable SCMSs might remain a pipe dream.…”

Çevre Yöneti̇m Muhasebesi̇: İso 2020’de Yer Alan İşletmelerde Uygulama

“…İşletmelerin çevresel stratejileri benimsemeleri konusu üzerinde etkili olan faktörler literatürde; durumsallık teorisi, paydaş teorisi, meşruiyet teorisi ve kurumsal teori gibi farklı teorilerle incelenmiştir. Durumsallık teorisi, muhasebe uygulamalarının benimsenmesinin işletmenin faaliyet gösterdiği benzersiz koşullara bağlı olduğunu (van Der Poll, 2022), paydaş teorisi, işletmenin başarısının paydaşları ile olan ilişkisini yönetme yeteneğine bağlı olduğunu (Marshall vd. 2010), meşruiyet teorisi, işletmelerin faaliyetlerinin toplumdaki sosyal normlara ve değerlere uygun olması gerektiğini (Agustia, 2020) ifade eder.…”

“…Kurumsal teoriye göre, örgütsel davranışlar ve uygulamalar, yasalar, değerler, kültürler, ortak bilişler, normlar ve sosyal beklentiler gibi dış çevre ve kurumsal çevreden büyük ölçüde etkilenir (Wang vd., 2019). Kurumsal teori, organizasyonun ve çalışanlarının uygulamalarını, eylemlerini, yapısını ve davranışlarını şekillendirmede izomorfizm 1 (eşbiçimlilik 2 ) adı verilen bir kavram aracılığıyla faaliyet gösteren dış kurumsal güçlerin rolünü ele alır (van Der Poll, 2022). Kurumsal teoriye göre işletmeler; hükümet, yasalar vb.…”