Integrating Activity-Based Costing Into Environmental Management Accounting Information Systems: A Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62951/ijecm.v3i3.1252Keywords:
Activity-Based Costing, Environmental Management Accounting, Information Systems, Sustainability, Sustainable Development GoalsAbstract
Environmental Management Accounting Information Systems (EMAIS) have become essential infrastructure for organisations to identify, measure, and manage environmental costs in supporting sustainability objectives. However, their decision-usefulness remains limited because environmental costs are often hidden within general overhead, making the activities generating these costs unclear. Activity-Based Costing (ABC) offers a solution through activity-based cost tracing, yet its integration into EMAIS remains conceptually limited and empirically fragmented. Using previous bibliometric mapping and a theory-synthesis approach, this study develops the Activity-Based EMAIS (AB-EMAIS) framework. The framework incorporates ABC logic into the input, processing, and output layers of EMAIS architecture and expands it through artificial intelligence (AI) augmentation and governance and assurance layers. The framework produces nine testable propositions and a research agenda covering conceptual refinement, empirical validation, technological development, and contextual investigation. AB-EMAIS transforms ABC–EMAIS integration into a coherent design framework, supporting transparent, relevant, and accountable environmental cost information. The framework is particularly relevant for emerging economies advancing Sustainable Development Goal 12.
Downloads
References
Barani, O., Ahmed, A. D., Joshi, M., & Asiaei, K. (2025). How environmental management accounting drives performance: A meta-analysis considering national EMA maturity. Journal of Accounting Literature, 47(5), 416–443. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAL-01-2025-0033
Burritt, R. L., Hahn, T., & Schaltegger, S. (2002). Towards a comprehensive framework for environmental management accounting: Links between business actors and environmental management accounting tools. Australian Accounting Review, 12(2), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1835-2561.2002.tb00202.x
Burritt, R. L., Schaltegger, S., Zvezdov, D., & Christ, K. L. (2023). Environmental management accounting: Developments over the last 20 years from a framework perspective. Australian Accounting Review, 33(3), 265–289. https://doi.org/10.1111/auar.12407
Christ, K. L., & Burritt, R. L. (2013). Environmental management accounting: The significance of contingent variables for adoption. Journal of Cleaner Production, 41, 163–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.10.007
Christ, K. L., & Burritt, R. L. (2015). Material flow cost accounting: A review and agenda for future research. Journal of Cleaner Production, 108, 1378–1389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.09.005
Cooper, R., & Kaplan, R. S. (1988). Measure costs right: Make the right decisions. Harvard Business Review, 66(5), 96–103.
Cooper, R., & Kaplan, R. S. (1991). Profit priorities from activity-based costing. Harvard Business Review, 69(3), 130–135.
García-Díaz, J. R., Puertas-Medina, R., & Luciano-Fernández, D. (2025). The role of activity-based costing in reducing environmental impact: A systematic literature review. Sustainability, 17(3), 1275. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17031275
Gosselin, M. (1997). The effect of strategy and organizational structure on the adoption and implementation of activity-based costing. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 22(2), 105–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0361-3682(96)00031-1
Gunarathne, N., & Lee, K. H. (2015). Environmental management accounting (EMA) for environmental management and organizational change: An eco-control approach. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 11(3), 362–383. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0361-3682(96)00031-1
Gunarathne, N., Lee, K. H., & Hitigala Kaluarachchilage, P. K. (2023). Tackling the integration challenge between environmental strategy and environmental management accounting. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 36(1), 63–95. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-10-2013-0078
Hanif, S., Ahmed, A., & Younas, N. (2023). Environmental management accounting practices and green transformational leadership on corporate environmental performance. Journal of Cleaner Production, 414, 137584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137584
Henri, J. F., & Journeault, M. (2010). Eco-control: The influence of management control systems on environmental and economic performance. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 35(1), 63–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2009.02.001
Hevner, A. R., March, S. T., Park, J., & Ram, S. (2004). Design science in information systems research. MIS Quarterly, 28(1), 75–105. https://doi.org/10.2307/25148625
Innes, J., Mitchell, F., & Sinclair, D. (2000). Activity-based costing in the UK's largest companies: A comparison of 1994 and 1999 survey results. Management Accounting Research, 11(3), 349–362. https://doi.org/10.1006/mare.2000.0135
International Federation of Accountants. (2005). International guidance document: Environmental management accounting. IFAC.
International Organization for Standardization. (2011). ISO 14051:2011 Environmental management — Material flow cost accounting — General framework. ISO.
Jaakkola, E. (2020). Designing conceptual articles: Four approaches. AMS Review, 10(1–2), 18–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-020-00161-0
Jans, M., Alles, M. G., & Vasarhelyi, M. A. (2014). A field study on the use of process mining of event logs as an analytical procedure in auditing. The Accounting Review, 89(5), 1751–1773. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-50807
Jasch, C. (2003). The use of environmental management accounting (EMA) for identifying environmental costs. Journal of Cleaner Production, 11(6), 667–676. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0959-6526(02)00107-5
Javed, F., Hussain, M., & Hassan, M. (2022). Environmental management accounting adoption barriers and enablers: A systematic review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 335, 130310.
Kaplan, R. S., & Anderson, S. R. (2004). Time-driven activity-based costing. Harvard Business Review, 82(11), 131–138.
Loughran, T., & McDonald, B. (2016). Textual analysis in accounting and finance: A survey. Journal of Accounting Research, 54(4), 1187–1230. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-679X.12123
Mokhtar, N., Jusoh, R., & Zulkifli, N. (2016). Corporate characteristics and environmental management accounting (EMA) implementation: Evidence from Malaysian public listed companies (PLCs). Journal of Cleaner Production, 136, 111–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.01.085
Möller, K., Schäffer, U., & Verbeeten, F. (2020). Digitalization in management accounting and control: An editorial. Journal of Management Control, 31(1–2), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00187-020-00300-5
Munoko, I., Brown-Liburd, H. L., & Vasarhelyi, M. (2020). The ethical implications of using artificial intelligence in auditing. Journal of Business Ethics, 167(2), 209–234. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04407-1
Öncü, M. A., Yıldırım, S., & Bostancı, S. H. (2022). Bibliometric analysis of publications on Web of Science database related to accounting information system. Cogent Business & Management, 9(1), 2160584.
Otoritas Jasa Keuangan. (2017). Regulation No. 51/POJK.03/2017 concerning the implementation of sustainable finance for financial services institutions, issuers, and public companies. Otoritas Jasa Keuangan.
Sanputra, A. H. D., Nugroho, T. R., & Sidharta, E. A. (2026). Two decades of environmental management accounting information systems: A bibliometric analysis and future research agenda on ABC integration. In Proceedings of the 12th International Management and Accounting Conference (IMAC 2026). Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. [Forthcoming.]
Schaltegger, S., & Burritt, R. L. (2000). Contemporary environmental accounting: Issues, concepts and practice. Greenleaf Publishing.
Simnett, R., Vanstraelen, A., & Chua, W. F. (2009). Assurance on sustainability reports: An international comparison. The Accounting Review, 84(3), 937–967. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr.2009.84.3.937
Stanescu, S. G., Cucui, I., Ionescu, C. A., Paschia, L., Nicolau, N. L. G., Stanescu, S. G. N., Manea, M. D., Coman, M. D., & Uzlau, M. C. (2021). Conceptual model for integrating environmental impact in managerial accounting information systems. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1791. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041791
Swalih, M. M., Mohd-Amirul, S., & Anuar, S. (2024). Environmental management accounting for strategic decision-making: A systematic literature review. Business Strategy and the Environment, 33(7), 5847–5870. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3828
Tsai, W. H., Lin, T. W., & Chou, W. C. (2010). Integrating activity-based costing and environmental cost accounting systems: A case study. International Journal of Business and Systems Research, 4(2), 186–208. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJBSR.2010.030774
Tsai, W. H., Shen, Y. S., Lee, P. L., Chen, H. C., Kuo, L., & Huang, C. C. (2012). Integrating information about the cost of carbon through activity-based costing. Journal of Cleaner Production, 36, 102–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.02.024
Wang, J., Wang, R., Zhu, Y., & Li, J. (2018). Life cycle assessment and environmental cost accounting of coal-fired power generation in China. Energy Policy, 115, 374–384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.01.040
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Journal of Economics, Commerce, and Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
