Integrating Sustainability into Management Control Systems: Challenges, Missing Concepts, and Emerging Research Areas
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 12 July 2026 | Viewed by 1107
Editors
Interests: sustainability; sustainable performance management; sustainable development; sustainability reporting; sustainability KPIs; sustainability management accounting; management control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: global mindset and international strategy of Chinese companies; trust, justice, and organizational performance; generative learning in international collaboration; policy and strategy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue focuses on the integration of Sustainability Management Control Systems (SMCSs) with traditional Management Control Systems (MCSs), highlighting the challenges, conceptual gaps, and emerging research opportunities related to ESG implementation and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite growing attention to ESG and corporate sustainability, organizations often face difficulties in embedding sustainability objectives systematically into managerial and control processes. This Special Issue seeks contributions that explore how firms design, implement, and align SMCSs and MCSs, addressing obstacles such as organizational misalignment, performance measurement limitations, stakeholder engagement, and decision making complexities. Papers may investigate theoretical developments, methodological innovations, and empirical evidence that clarify how integrated control systems can drive sustainable value creation with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), operational effectiveness, and long-term societal impact. Interdisciplinary perspectives are particularly welcome, including studies on governance, reporting, incentive structures, and process innovations that enable effective ESG integration. Ultimately, this Special Issue aims to advance both academic understanding and managerial practice, providing insights into how organizations can strategically and operationally embed sustainability, overcome implementation challenges, and address critical gaps in the literature.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) metrics;
- Sustainability reporting;
- Sustainable Performance Management Systems;
- Sustainable performance in the context of land and the green economy;
- The impact of ESRS on corporate performance;
- Sustainable decision making;
- Sustainability and behavioral strategies;
- Sustainable value chains.
Prof. Dr. Ivo Hristov
Prof. Dr. Yongjian Bao
Dr. Riccardo Camilli
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- sustainability management
- CSR
- sustainability control systems
- sustainable performance
- sustainability compliance
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