Article review of “Corporate sustainability management accounting”: a note

Article review of “Corporate sustainability management accounting”: a note

How to present this article in Harvard reference format?

 Schaltegger, S., Christ, K.L., Wenzig, J. & Burritt, R.L., 2022. Corporate sustainability management accounting and multi‐level links for sustainability – A systematic review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 24(4), pp.480–500. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12288

 

What are the key research issues the article wants to address?

The article aims to address several key research issues related to corporate sustainability management accounting (SMA) and its connection to broader sustainability contexts:

1.    Expansion of Sustainability Information Needs: The study acknowledges the changing societal vision of sustainable development, which alters both the business context and expectations for management to contribute to solving sustainability problems beyond organizational boundaries. It focuses on how sustainability information needs of managers and management accounting evolve due to influences from macro-level (e.g., environmental regulations) and meso-level contexts (e.g., social industry standards).

2.    Limitations of Conventional SMA Scope: The article questions the conventional assumption that SMA’s scope is mainly internal to the organization. It identifies this internal-only focus as a problematic and constricting assumption in existing literature.

3.    Linking SMA to Multi-Level Contexts: The research explores how SMA addresses the links between the organization and external sustainability contexts at multiple levels—macro (societal, planetary), meso (industry, market), and micro (organization). Specifically, how companies manage and analyze these links to contribute to sustainability transformations beyond their boundaries.

4.    Development of a Conceptual Framework: Recognizing the gaps, the article proposes a new multi-level framework called Context, Action-formation, and Transformative contributions (CAT) to aid the future development of SMA, emphasizing its role in contributing to sustainability at and beyond the organizational level.

In summary, the key research issues focus on broadening the scope and understanding of SMA beyond internal organizational processes, integrating multi-level sustainability links, and enhancing SMA's role in supporting sustainable development at societal and planetary scales

 

Describe two main theories employed in this article.

The article employs two main theoretical frameworks to analyze corporate sustainability management accounting (SMA) in relation to sustainability at multiple levels:

1.    Coleman’s Multi-Level Framework (1986), refined by Hedström and Swedberg (1998): This social theory framework distinguishes different levels of analysis—micro, meso, and macro—and focuses on the social mechanisms linking these levels. In the context of the article, it is used to explore how SMA operates and influences sustainability outcomes across these levels:

• Micro-level: Organizational or individual actions involving SMA adoption and innovation.
• Meso-level: Industry, networks, supply chains, and markets influencing and influenced by SMA.
• Macro-level: Broader societal and planetary contexts, such as regulations, ecological boundaries, and sustainable development goals. This theory helps analyze how SMA can contribute to sustainable development not just internally but through interactions and transformations at meso- and macro-levels.

2.    Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) Framework (Geels, 2002, 2011): Widely used in sustainability transitions literature, the MLP provides a systems view on how innovations and transformations occur through interactions among niches (micro-level innovations), regimes (meso-level established systems), and landscapes (macro-level societal and ecological conditions). The article adopts this framework to complement the social mechanisms approach by offering insight into systemic and dynamic connections among multiple levels, crucial for understanding how SMA innovations can support wider sustainability transformations.

Together, these two theories allow the authors to analyze SMA beyond internal business accounting, emphasizing its role in multi-level sustainability challenges and transformations by linking micro-level organizational activities with meso-level industry dynamics and macro-level societal and ecological systems.

 

Describe 3 main claims of the article in terms of Toulmin's model of argument.

Using Toulmin’s model of argument (which includes Claim, Data/Grounds, and Warrant), three main claims of the article can be described as follows:

1.    Claim 1: Corporate sustainability management accounting (SMA) needs to expand its traditional internal focus to explicitly integrate multi-level links with meso- and macro-level sustainability contexts and outcomes.

• Data/Grounds: The literature review shows most SMA research assumes an internal organizational scope, neglecting broader sustainability challenges and contexts such as planetary boundaries and sustainability transformations in markets and society.
• Warrant: For SMA to effectively contribute to sustainable development, it must reflect the complex, multi-level socio-ecological context in which businesses operate, as corporations influence and are influenced by external networks, regulations, and global environmental and social issues.

2.    Claim 2: Existing SMA research predominantly focuses on situational (contextual) influences at the meso-level more than at the macro-level, but transformational impacts of SMA on broader societal sustainability issues are underexplored.

• Data/Grounds: The systematic review finds that 85% of articles address situational links, mostly meso-micro-level (e.g., stakeholder pressures, industry standards), while transformational links to meso- and macro-level changes (e.g., market transformation, regulatory change) are less addressed (37%).
• Warrant: Understanding both situational influences and transformational contributions is necessary to capture the full potential and challenges of SMA in supporting sustainability transitions at scale.

3.    Claim 3: A new Context, Action-formation, and Transformative contributions (CAT) framework is needed to reorganize SMA research and practice, facilitating its role in sustainability transformations beyond organizational boundaries.

• Data/Grounds: The article proposes the CAT framework based on multi-level theoretical analysis and literature insights, structuring SMA into addressing: (a) Context—awareness of external sustainability expectations; (b) Action—organizational sustainability activities and accounting for them; (c) Transformation—measuring and communicating contributions to sustainability at meso- and macro-levels.
• Warrant: This structured approach overcomes limitations of conventional SMA by linking SMA at the micro-level to broader societal goals and enhances management’s ability to contribute to sustainable development beyond the firm.

These claims collectively argue for a theoretical and practical reorientation of SMA to consider multi-level sustainability contexts, enhance transformational impact, and organize SMA accordingly for improved contribution to sustainability transitions.

 ** reference:  a collection of management accounting notes