Melco Management Accounting Research
Discussion Paper Series
No.MDP2018-003
The Design and Use of External Environmental Management Control
Systems-An Analysis of the Aims, Procedures and Success Factors-

September 2018

Takashi Ando
Lecturer, Chiba University of Commerce, Faculty of Commerce and Economics
1-3-1 Konodai, Ichikawa-shi, Chiba 272-8512 Japane-mail: tando@cuc.ac.jp

The Melco Foundation
Nagoya, Japan
Discussion Paper Series of the Melco Management Accounting Research, in order to promote
the study of management accounting, has published this unfinished paper onto the Web. Pleaseobtain the permission of the author when citing this paper.

The Design and Use of External Environmental Management Control Systems-An Analysis of the Aims, Procedures and Success FactorsDr. Takashi Ando(Chiba University of Commerce)

1.

My Research Theme and Encouragement Aims

Environmental management control systems can be defined as “the process by which managers
influence other members of the organization to implement or create the organization’s environmental
strategies.” (Ando 2018). These systems have three main features. Managers first introduce
environmental and social indicators into their companies’ performance evaluation systems. Second, thecompany as a whole engages in activities that aim to implement or create (emerge or co-create)environmental strategies. Third, managers try to motivate employees through the activities in the first andsecond features. I compared the standard management control process to an environmental management
control process, I find that the most characteristic process in environmental management control systems
is the final stage of internal and external communication as shown in figure1.
①Policy and Goal
Formulation⑤Internal andExternalCommunication②Information Gathering③Decision Support④Implementation
andSteering【Fig1：The Process of Environmental Management Control Systems】
arranged by me refering to Schaltegger and Sturm(1998);Schaltegger and Burritt(2000)

But in fact, internal communication and external communication are quite different (e.g. aims contentsand methods); therefore I separate them and call the former internal environmental management control
systems and, the latter external environmental management control systems.
In this encouragement, I aimed to construct a network in Management Accounting Research Group(MARG)for my own research in these two areas.

12.

Event Abstract

I attended the annual Management Accounting Research Group (MARG) conference at the London
School of Economics (LSE) on April 18.2018. My goal was to my partnerships with co-researchers andhold meetings regarding my research plan. I was very successful with the formal goal, but only modestly
successful with the latter.
I was able to strengthen my partnerships with co-researchers at the MARG Conference, but was able tomeet and have a discussion with. One of the outstanding researchers Conference I could meet and discuss
one of the researchers in the excellent CSR management control research field (Arjaliès and Mundy 2013).
Furthermore, I was able to meet and talk with Dr. van der Stede, so it was very fruitful event from thataspect.
In the meetings about co-research, it became clear that one of the co-researcher’s research interest was alittle different than mine. The other co-researcher was interested in my plan, but her days were very busy,
so I was unable to implement my plan immediately. I gave a copy of the ideal model paper to her, and she
is examining how and when my plan can underway.

3.

Paper’ Abstract

The paper I gave her (Costas and Kärreman 2013) is field research about environmental motivation. As
mentioned before, the ultimate goal of environmental management control systems finally is to motivate
employees. However, there were few papers in our field about this, so this paper is very important in thepoints of the contents and approaches. The paper first surveys the features of formal and informal control
systems. I have summarized Costas and Kärreman(2013) as figure2.

Ideology

Formal Control
SystemsCompanyLaborSideSide

Exchange Ideology

Functional

Aims

Means（Selﬁsh）（Altruistic）

The Hierarchy of thePriolity

Interpletational

MeansAims

hypothesis byIdeology

Maslow(1987)

Efficiency andCompetitive・Informal Control Volanteer Ideology
SystemsApproach

Fundamental

The Right（The physiological,safty(The Area ofand belongingness and love

Activation in the（Quantitative）

needs）

right Brain)

Value andDevelopmental

The Left（The esteem,self-(The Area ofactualization and self-

Activation in thetranscendence needs）

left Brain)

EffectivenessSignificance（Qualitative）【Fig2：The Characteristics of Formal Control Systems and Informal Control Systems】
written by me based on Costas and Kärreman(2013)

Their most characteristic contribution is the classification of employees’ environmental motivation intothree types through participatory fieldwork. The three types are identified believers, straddlers and cynics.
This classification depends on the attitudes and fundamental ideas for the company’s actual CSRactivities.

2

Believers are individuals who strongly believe in CSR and embrace the idealized image of the ethically,socially and ecologically concerned corporate self. They are triggers who promote the present CSRactivities. Their source of motivation is the identity -many people tend to image of CSR as important andideal for our common future. While they are not always good people, they tend to think of CSR as
essential for our common future.
Straddlers have an ambivalent attitude; they regard CSR as desirable, yet simultaneously distancethemselves from it. While believing that addressing CSR issues is important, they express ambivalencewith respect to the corporate manufactured nature of responsibility, care and ethics. They express thetroubling sense that the company’s involvement is instrumental and insincere. This sense arises in thecontext of companies’ marketing campaigns in many cases to create highly visible publicity for their CSRactivities.
Cynics are suspicious of both the employees’ and companies’ motivations concerning CSR. They
already have seen the nature of the company’s present activities and CSR activities.

A companies’

nature is to earn money, so it is tackling CSR is unsuitable. CSR is a way for companies to market
themselves as attractive employers.
However, a very important point is that there is no one who believe in social goodwill. Cynics especiallytend to believe strongly in social goodwill, so their tendency is to disparage actual CSR activities. In otherwords, their ideals are very high, so they tend to judge the actual activities as trivial and inappropriate.
Internal environmental management control research should especially be based on these actual fieldresearch’ findings. But in my experience it is very difficult for us to do actual participatory fieldworks inJapanese companies. Therefore, I am eager to do this research in the UK, because Costas did research inthis country.

4.

Future Challenges

I am writing papers regarding environmental motivation (internal environmental management controlsystems), then I will clarify our future challenges and tasks. In addition, during this summer vacation(2018), I will send an e-mail to my co-researcher to ask what she thinks the paper and try to get the fieldresearch in the UK.

5.

References

1.

Ando,T. 2018. “The Structure of Internal Environmental Management Control Systems:TheAnalysis and Interpretations of the Aims, Functions and Procedures.” Chibashodai
Ronso.55(2):155-174.

2.

Arjaliès,D.L., and Mundy,J.2013. “The Use of Management Control Systems to Manage CSR
Strategy:A Levers of Control Perspective.” Management Accounting Research.24(4):284-300.

3.

Costas.J.and Kärreman.D.2013.“Conscience as Control:Managing Employees through

3CSR.”Organization.20(3):394-415.
4.

Maslow,A.Motivation and Personality.3rd ed. Addison-Wiley.1987.

5.

Schaltegger,S. and Sturm.A.1998. Eco Efficiency by Eco-Controlling: On the Implementationof

EMAS and ISO14001.ETHZ/Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
6.

Schaltegger,S. and Burritt,R.2000.Contemporary Environmental Accounting: Issues,Concepts andPractice,Greenleaf Publishing.

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