Environmental Management Accounting

The rising importance of sustainability and accountability in organizations has prompted the exploration of innovative approaches to enhance environmental performance and energy efficiency (ENE). The purpose of this research is to examine the extent to which environmental management accounting (EMA) and ENE practices contribute to accountability within state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Bangladesh. This study employs both symmetrical (PLS-SEM) and asymmetrical (fsQCA) approaches. The study verifies internal consistency, reliability, validity, common method bias, and collinearity issues through measurement model analysis and conducts path analysis after testing model fitness in structural model analysis. Finally, the study uses fsQCA to conduct indepth analyses of causal contributions from different conditions to a specific outcome of interest. The PLS-SEM analysis revealed significant positive relationships between EMA and ENE with transparency, responsibility, and answerability. These results indicate that organizations adopting EMA and ENE practices are more likely to exhibit higher levels of transparency, demonstrate greater responsibility towards environmental matters, and be more answerable to stakeholders for their accountability. Further, the study identified ENE as a mediator of EMA and accountability. Finally, the fsQCA analysis supported the importance of both EMA and ENE as necessary conditions for achieving accountability indicating the integration of EMA and ENE to foster transparency, responsibility, and answerability effectively. This study implies that by implementing EMA systems and focusing on energy-efficient operations, organizations can enhance transparency, responsibility, and answerability to stakeholders, fostering a positive image and reputation. Therefore, SOEs may consider integrating these practices into their overall sustainability strategies to maximize their impact on accountability and environmental performance.

This study investigates the primary role of institutional pressure specifically (coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures) to implement environmental management accounting (EMA) among SMEs in Kenya, and how such influences are affected by organisational resources and capabilities, with a focus on the function of EMA, on sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). Using an online survey, random samples of 1,162 Kenyan manufacturing SMEs provided the data. The empirical findings indicate that normative and coercive forces have a substantial and direct relationship with EMA adoption. However, there was no correlation between mimetic pressure and the adoption of EMA. In addition, the results revealed that only environmental innovation capability positively and substantially mitigated the effect of coercive and normative pressure on EMA adoption. Our PLS analysis discovered a significant and direct relationship between EMA and SCA. In conclusion, the current research expands our understanding of how firms create EMA through the interaction of institutional forces (i.e., coercive and normative constraints) and environmental innovation potential. Furthermore, this study highlights the relevance and use of EMA in giving information to Kenyan SMEs to conduct superior SCA.