Tackling the integration challenge between environmental strategy and environmental management accounting
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal
ISSN: 0951-3574
Article publication date: 21 February 2022
Issue publication date: 10 January 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The research debate on the direct relationship between environmental strategy and environmental management accounting (EMA) is quite popular; however, integration challenges between these two factors still persist at the firm level. This paper seeks to adopt the contingency theory perspective to examine how EMA implementation varies across organizations with different intensity levels of environmental management strategy implementation (i.e. environmental management maturity, EMM).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a web-based survey, designed and administered to public listed companies and members of three industry chambers in Sri Lanka.
Findings
This study finds that EMA implementation is significantly different among organizations at varying EMM stages. Further, it is observed that organizations at higher stages of EMM use significantly greater domain-based EMA tools and EMA for functional purposes. Therefore, the results show that when organizations progress from reactive to proactive environmental strategies, the EMA evolves to encapsulate and diversify to deal with more-sophisticated environmental management activities.
Originality/value
This is the first study to provide cross-sectional evidence on the relationship between the application of EMA tools and functional uses and the intensity of the environmental strategy pursuance (or EMM). It also proposes a multi-item comprehensive measurement tool for EMA implementation.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Citation
Gunarathne, N., Lee, K.-H. and Hitigala Kaluarachchilage, P.K. (2023), "Tackling the integration challenge between environmental strategy and environmental management accounting", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 36 No. 1, pp. 63-95. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-03-2020-4452
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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