Abstract:
Case study evidence from a large industrial firm is analysed with the purpose of
constructing a new conceptual model of the influences that drive companies towards
sustainability, and showing the advantages of integrating sustainability reporting with
management control systems, specifically the balanced scorecard. The new conceptual model
suggests an important role for external stakeholders to influence balanced scorecard measures,
sustainability report measures, and management focus. These three constructs influence each
other and are reinforced by a system of assigning and enforcing the assumption of individual
employee responsibility, whilst supporting a drive towards sustainability. The advantages of
integration include better operationalization and internal communication of sustainability
ideals through the use of the balanced scorecard (BSC), and a better understanding of BSC
causality (between the BSC perspectives) through the more extensive stakeholder engagement
that sustainability reporting calls for.
