MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING MECHANISMS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY UNDER ENVIRONMENTAL UNCERTAINTY: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Organizations are increasingly expected to achieve sustainability objectives while operating in environments characterized by rapid regulatory, technological, market, and societal changes. In response to these challenges, management accounting has evolved beyond its traditional financial role to support strategic decision-making, organizational control, and sustainability initiatives. Although research on management accounting for sustainability has expanded considerably, existing evidence remains fragmented across different management accounting mechanisms, and the role of environmental uncertainty in shaping their effectiveness has not been comprehensively synthesized. This study systematically reviews the literature on management accounting mechanisms employed to enhance sustainability-related organizational outcomes and examines how environmental uncertainty has been addressed within this body of research.

A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Articles were retrieved from the Scopus database using predefined search strategies and selection criteria. Following title, abstract, and full-text screening, 40 empirical studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. The selected articles were analyzed using thematic synthesis to identify dominant management accounting mechanisms, sustainability-related organizational outcomes, theoretical perspectives, and the role of environmental uncertainty.

The review indicates that Environmental Management Accounting, Management Control Systems, Strategic Management Accounting, Performance Measurement Systems, Environmental Management Control Systems, and Sustainability Management Control Systems consistently contribute to sustainability-related organizational outcomes, primarily through organizational capabilities such as green innovation, dynamic capabilities, organizational resilience, business strategy, organizational ambidexterity, and green human resource management. However, the findings also reveal that environmental uncertainty remains conceptually underdeveloped. While regulatory changes, stakeholder pressures, technological developments, and market dynamics are widely acknowledged as contextual conditions, they are rarely operationalized as empirical constructs explaining the effectiveness of management accounting mechanisms. Building on these findings, this study proposes an integrated conceptual framework that positions management accounting mechanisms as strategic organizational capabilities and environmental uncertainty as a higher-order contingency factor influencing sustainability-related organizational outcomes.

This review contributes to the management accounting for sustainability literature by integrating fragmented empirical evidence, identifying a significant conceptual gap regarding environmental uncertainty, and proposing a contingency-based framework to guide future research. The findings also provide practical insights for managers and policymakers seeking to strengthen organizational sustainability through adaptive management accounting practices in increasingly uncertain environments.