IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/endesu/v23y2021i8d10.1007_s10668-020-01140-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Institutional isomorphism, environmental management accounting and environmental accountability: a review

Author

Listed:
  • Gilbert Kwabena Amoako

    (University of Cape Coast)

  • Anokye M. Adam

    (University of Cape Coast)

  • Clement Lamboi Arthur

    (University of Cape Coast)

  • George Tackie

    (University of Cape Coast)

Abstract

Environmental sustainability has received much attention in recent times by world leaders. This is largely due to the rate at which the natural environment is deteriorating and thus, presenting an urgent need for action to ensure the continuity of the earth ecosystem to sustain life. Consequently, the world has witnessed heightened pressure on firms to engage in environmental accountability practices. This is partly because firms have been implicated as major contributors to environmental degradation, particularly in low-income settings. Extensive research has, therefore, been directed by the academic community to understand the nature and extent to which institutional factors and the firm’s initiatives may predict firm environmental accountability practice. This paper, therefore, aimed at providing a review and synthesis of institutional isomorphism, environmental management accounting and environmental accountability, and to propose a theoretical framework to investigate the nexus among these concepts. We observed that the relationship between the institutional isomorphic factors and environmental accountability practices defies consistency. Based on the findings, we advance a theoretical framework to help focus and understand the complex relationships among institutional isomorphic factors, environmental management accounting implementation and environmental accountability which are paramount to protecting the earth’s ecosystem and sustenance of human life.

Suggested Citation

  • Gilbert Kwabena Amoako & Anokye M. Adam & Clement Lamboi Arthur & George Tackie, 2021. "Institutional isomorphism, environmental management accounting and environmental accountability: a review," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 11201-11216, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:23:y:2021:i:8:d:10.1007_s10668-020-01140-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-020-01140-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-020-01140-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10668-020-01140-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Roger L Burritt, 2004. "Environmental management accounting: roadblocks on the way to the green and pleasant land," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(1), pages 13-32, January.
    2. Reginald Masocha & Olawale Fatoki, 2018. "The Impact of Coercive Pressures on Sustainability Practices of Small Businesses in South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-14, August.
    3. L. Bouten & S. Hoozee, 2013. "On the interplay between environmental reporting and management accounting change," Post-Print hal-00847457, HAL.
    4. de Villiers, Charl & Alexander, Deborah, 2014. "The institutionalisation of corporate social responsibility reporting," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 198-212.
    5. Patten, Dennis M., 2002. "The relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: a research note," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 27(8), pages 763-773, November.
    6. Carpenter, Vivian L. & Feroz, Ehsan H., 1992. "GAAP as a symbol of legitimacy: New York State's decision to adopt generally accepted accounting principles," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(7), pages 613-643, October.
    7. Jan Bebbington & Judy Brown & Bob Frame & Ian Thomson, 2007. "Theorizing engagement: the potential of a critical dialogic approach," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(3), pages 356-381, June.
    8. Amer Saeed & Yun Jun & Saviour Ayertey Nubuor & Hewawasam Puwakpitiyage Rasika Priyankara & Mahabaduge Prasad Fernando Jayasuriya, 2018. "Institutional Pressures, Green Supply Chain Management Practices on Environmental and Economic Performance: A Two Theory View," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-24, May.
    9. Md. Abdul Kaium Masud & Seong Mi Bae & Jong Dae Kim, 2017. "Analysis of Environmental Accounting and Reporting Practices of Listed Banking Companies in Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-19, September.
    10. Dayana Jalaludin & Maliah Sulaiman & Nik Nazli Nik Ahmad, 2011. "Understanding environmental management accounting (EMA) adoption: a new institutional sociology perspective," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(4), pages 540-557, October.
    11. Agyemang, Otuo Serebour & Aboagye, Emmanuel & Ahali, Aaron Yao Ofoe, 2013. "Prospects and Challenges of Corporate Governance in Ghana," MPRA Paper 47117, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Ravi Inder Singh Chandok & Sukhdev Singh, 2017. "Empirical study on determinants of environmental disclosure," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(4/5), pages 332-355, April.
    13. Geoffrey R. Frost & Trevor D. Wilmshurst, 2000. "The Adoption of Environment‐related management accounting: an analysis of corporate environmental sensitivity," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 344-365, December.
    14. Emerald Edem Welbeck & Godfred Matthew Yaw Owusu & Rita Amoah Bekoe & John Amoah Kusi, 2017. "Determinants of environmental disclosures of listed firms in Ghana," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-12, December.
    15. Lívia Maria da Silva Santos & Wenner Glaucio Lopes Lucena & Wesley Vieira da Silva & Tatiana Marceda Bach & Claudimar Pereira da Veiga, 2019. "Explanatory Factors of the Environmental Disclosure of Potentially Polluting Companies: Evidence From Brazil," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(1), pages 21582440198, February.
    16. Hopwood, Anthony G., 2009. "Accounting and the environment," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(3-4), pages 433-439, April.
    17. Gray, Rob, 2010. "Is accounting for sustainability actually accounting for sustainability...and how would we know? An exploration of narratives of organisations and the planet," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 47-62, January.
    18. Stephanie Perkiss & Bonnie Dean & Belinda Gibbons, 2019. "Crowdsourcing Corporate Transparency through Social Accounting: Conceptualising the ‘Spotlight Account’," Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(2), pages 81-99, May.
    19. Belal, Ataur Rahman & Cooper, Stuart M. & Khan, Niaz Ahmed, 2015. "Corporate environmental responsibility and accountability: What chance in vulnerable Bangladesh?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 44-58.
    20. Peter M. Clarkson & Michael B. Overell & Larelle Chapple, 2011. "Environmental Reporting and its Relation to Corporate Environmental Performance," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 47(1), pages 27-60, March.
    21. Roberts, John, 1991. "The possibilities of accountability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 355-368.
    22. Daniel Kouloukoui & Ângelo Marcio Oliveira Sant'Anna & Sônia Maria da Silva Gomes & Marcia Mara de Oliveira Marinho & Pieter de Jong & Asher Kiperstok & Ednildo Andrade Torres, 2019. "Factors influencing the level of environmental disclosures in sustainability reports: Case of climate risk disclosure by Brazilian companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(4), pages 791-804, July.
    23. Delphine Gibassier & Simon Alcouffe, 2018. "Environmental Management Accounting: The Missing Link to Sustainability?," Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(1), pages 1-18, January.
    24. Bebbington, Jan & Russell, Shona & Thomson, Ian, 2017. "Accounting and sustainable development: Reflections and propositions," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 21-34.
    25. Hilson, Gavin, 2012. "Corporate Social Responsibility in the extractive industries: Experiences from developing countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 131-137.
    26. Olivia Anku-Tsede & Eric Worlanyo Deffor, 2014. "Corporate Responsibility in Ghana: An Overview of Aspects of the Regulatory Regime," Business and Management Research, Business and Management Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 3(2), pages 31-41, June.
    27. Gray, Rob, 2002. "The social accounting project and Accounting Organizations and Society Privileging engagement, imaginings, new accountings and pragmatism over critique?," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 27(7), pages 687-708, October.
    28. Samson Iliya Nyahas & John C. Munene & Laura Orobia & Twaha Kigongo Kaawaase, 2017. "Isomorphic influences and voluntary disclosure: The mediating role of organizational culture," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 1351144-135, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Natascha Eggers & Torsten Birth & Bernd Sankol & Lukas Kerpen & Antonio Hurtado, 2023. "A Literature Review on Existing Methods and Indicators for Evaluating the Efficiency of Power-to-X Processes," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-23, January.
    2. Gilbert K. Amoako & Anokye M. Adam & George Tackie & Clement Lamboi Arthur, 2021. "Environmental Accountability Practices of Environmentally Sensitive Firms in Ghana: Does Institutional Isomorphism Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-14, August.
    3. Silas Mukwarami & Chekani Nkwaira & Huibrecht Margaretha van der Poll, 2023. "Environmental Management Accounting Implementation Challenges and Supply Chain Management in Emerging Economies’ Manufacturing Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-18, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gilbert K. Amoako & Anokye M. Adam & George Tackie & Clement Lamboi Arthur, 2021. "Environmental Accountability Practices of Environmentally Sensitive Firms in Ghana: Does Institutional Isomorphism Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-14, August.
    2. Jane Andrew & Max Baker, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting: The Last 40 Years and a Path to Sharing Future Insights," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 56(1), pages 35-65, March.
    3. Bebbington, Jan & Russell, Shona & Thomson, Ian, 2017. "Accounting and sustainable development: Reflections and propositions," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 21-34.
    4. Qian, Wei & Schaltegger, Stefan, 2017. "Revisiting carbon disclosure and performance: Legitimacy and management views," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 365-379.
    5. Alessandro Lai & Gaia Melloni & Riccardo Stacchezzini, 2016. "Corporate Sustainable Development: is ‘Integrated Reporting’ a Legitimation Strategy?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 165-177, March.
    6. Michelon, Giovanna & Pilonato, Silvia & Ricceri, Federica, 2015. "CSR reporting practices and the quality of disclosure: An empirical analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 59-78.
    7. Dillard, Jesse & Vinnari, Eija, 2019. "Critical dialogical accountability: From accounting-based accountability to accountability-based accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 16-38.
    8. O'Dwyer, Brendan & Unerman, Jeffrey, 2016. "Fostering rigour in accounting for social sustainability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 32-40.
    9. Rodrigue, Michelle & Romi, Andrea M., 2022. "Environmental escalations to social inequities: Some reflections on the tumultuous state of Gaia," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    10. Brown, Judy & Dillard, Jesse, 2013. "Agonizing over engagement: SEA and the “death of environmentalism” debates," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 1-18.
    11. Ang, Soon Yong & Wickramasinghe, Danture, 2023. "Ethical disputes, coordinating acts and NGO accountability: Evidence from an NGO river-care programme in Malaysia," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    12. Helfaya, Akrum & Aboud, Ahmed & Amin, Essam, 2023. "An examination of corporate environmental goals disclosure, sustainability performance and firm value – An Egyptian evidence," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    13. Saravanamuthu, Kala & Lehman, Cheryl, 2013. "Enhancing stakeholder interaction through environmental risk accounts," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 410-437.
    14. Nirman Noor Afiqi Mat Yusoh & Tuan Zainun Tuan Mat, 2020. "Environmental Management Accounting Adoption Barriers Among Malaysian Hotel Companies," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 11(3), pages 31-42, June.
    15. Burritt, Roger & Schaltegger, Stefan, 2014. "Accounting towards sustainability in production and supply chains," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 327-343.
    16. Lino Cinquini & Emilio Passetti & Andrea Tenucci, 2016. "La sostenibilit? ambientale in azienda: quale relazione tra disclosure volontaria e gestione interna?," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(2), pages 15-32.
    17. Ralph Adler & Mansi Mansi & Rakesh Pandey, 2022. "Accounting for waste management: a study of the reporting practices of the top listed Indian companies," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 2401-2437, June.
    18. Cho, Charles H. & Patten, Dennis M., 2013. "Green accounting: Reflections from a CSR and environmental disclosure perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 443-447.
    19. Grisard, Claudine & Annisette, Marcia & Graham, Cameron, 2020. "Performative agency and incremental change in a CSR context," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    20. Emerald Edem Welbeck & Godfred Matthew Yaw Owusu & Rita Amoah Bekoe & John Amoah Kusi, 2017. "Determinants of environmental disclosures of listed firms in Ghana," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-12, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:23:y:2021:i:8:d:10.1007_s10668-020-01140-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.