Presenting a Model of the Role of Strategic Management Accounting in Enhancing Sustainable Development Using an Interpretive Structural Modeling Approach

Arash  Nejati; Hossein Badiei; Reza  Mansourian

Authors

Arash Nejati Department of Accounting, ST.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6883-8031
Hossein Badiei Department of Accounting, ST.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Corresponding author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2380-9366
Reza Mansourian Department of Accounting, ST.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2058-8409

Keywords:

sustainable development enhancement, sustainable development, strategic management accounting.

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a model explaining the role of strategic management accounting in enhancing sustainable development using an interpretive structural modeling approach. The required data were collected through interviews with management accounting experts, including heads of finance and accounting departments in manufacturing companies who had relevant professional experience and academic qualifications in accounting and finance at the master’s or doctoral level, as well as accountants employed in manufacturing companies. The expert panel consisted of 15 participants. Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) was employed for qualitative modeling. In this study, ISM was used to design a model explaining the role of strategic management accounting in enhancing sustainable development. The results of Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) demonstrated that the achievement of sustainable development is configured across four hierarchical levels. At Level 4 (the foundational level), the variables of “strategic planning” and “strategic management accounting,” which exhibited the greatest driving power, were identified as the fundamental drivers. This implies that the formulation of competitive strategies and strategic budgeting can generate organizational transformation only when they are integrated with modern information systems and accounting practices, such as environmental management accounting and value chain costing. At Level 3 (the intermediate level), “executive and operational drivers” serve as a linking mechanism through which organizational value management and the alignment of objectives translate strategic decisions into operational activities. At Level 2, this process results in “sustainable performance improvement,” reflected in indicators such as resource productivity, economic efficiency, and social responsibility. Finally, at Level 1 (the ultimate level), “enhancement of sustainable development” is achieved across its three economic, social, and environmental dimensions.

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