Overview of Management Control and its interactions with Corporate Sustainability: systematic literature review with bibliometric analysis for the period 2010-2019

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate, based on a systematic literature review, the concepts developed on Management Control and Corporate Sustainability, characterized by the term ESG - from English, environment, society, and governance. Searches were carried out using the Scopus®Elsevier ® platform, where 1132 articles were obtained, using the search terms, in the period of 2010-2019. After refining, 558 remaining articles were analyzed in bibliometric contexts. Such a survey indicated that the studies are more numerous in the United States of America, but in Spain there is the university and the author with more publications in the delimitation of the research. The relevance of the study is shown in the clearance of research data. Using specific software for the analysis of the works, the terms do not indicate convergence at all in the understanding of the ESG discourse: one aspect is stronger in the socio-environmental aspect and the other, in the aspect of governance and performance; both aspects appear to be apparently independent and not synergistic, contrary to what they should propose, in adherence to the ESG theme. There is an understanding of the creation of concept islands, with a dispersion of thematic focus, based on idiosyncrasies. This dispersion has conditions to infer the primacy that the Management Control can receive from the entities that form the ESG discourse, being directed to eccentric positions, in aversion to the real sense of the ESG discourse: balance. As a contribution, it is expected that the study allows a better understanding of managers in decision making, as well as researchers, in the direction of Management Control and Corporate Sustainability, given the double meaning, observed in this work.