Technology used to enhance organisations’ social and environmental accountability

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Introduction

Technology can enhance, or potentially fundamentally transform, how organisations conceptualise and operationalise social and environmental accountability. By harnessing technology, organizations can not only meet regulatory requirements but also proactively engage with broader societal concerns, contributing to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and enhancing their overall corporate social responsibility efforts (see, for example, De Villiers, Kuruppu & Dissanayake, 2021; Teh & Rana, 2023).

A range of technologies such as blockchain, data analytics, digital twins and AI are pivotal in automating data collection, ensuring real-time reporting, and improving the traceability of information across supply chains (see, for example, Castka, Searcy & Mohr, 2020; Han et al., 2023; Kuruppu, Dissanayake & de Villiers, 2024; Tiwari & Khan, 2020). However, while there are conceptual studies on how some of these technologies can potentially improve the way that organisations gather, record, manage and report on social and environmental impacts (see, for example, de Villiers, Kuruppu & Dissanayake, 2021; De Villiers, Dimes & Molinari, 2024), there is a dearth of research on how technology is actually changing practice, and whether the benefits are spread equally within and across organisations. Furthermore, prior research tends to focus on the integration of one or two technologies, but not a ‘package’ of technologies and how they can interact to enhance accountability (Kuruppu, Dissanayake & De Villiers, 2024). 

There is a pressing need for empirically and theoretically engaged research which explores the use of technology to enhance organizations' social and environmental accountability at the intersection of accounting, reporting, and stakeholder engagement. Such research can delve into how technological innovations should facilitate more comprehensive and reliable reporting practices, thereby fostering greater trust and accountability among stakeholders, including investors, regulators, communities, consumers, and society as a whole (see, for example, Garanina, Ranta & Dumay, 2021). This is a crucial concern in a ‘post-truth’ age where separating fact from fiction is becoming increasingly challenging.

This Call for Papers invites research that investigates how technological advancements can bolster transparency and accuracy in organizations' disclosures of their social and environmental impacts. It encourages research that considers the adoption and integration of various technological solutions, their possibilities and their limitations at the intersection of accounting and professional practice (see, for example, Tiron-Tudor, Rodgers & Deliu, 2024). The role of accountants and how they interact with and deploy technology(ies) (see, for example, Yigitbasioglu, Green & Cheung, 2021) to improve social and environmental accounting needs special attention. For example, from a ‘preparer perspective’, does technology enhance the standardisation of external reporting on social and environmental issues (see, for example, Pizzi, Mastroleo, Venturelli & Caputo, 2023), and if so, at what cost? This necessarily calls for research which examines ‘user perspectives’ (e.g. investors, regulators, customers, and communities) of how technology has/can enhance social and environmental accountability by building (or eroding) trust. ‘Critically oriented’ research is especially important to ensure that technology is not seen as a panacea to all problems (Kuruppu, Dissanayake & De Villiers, 2022), and that pathways to improve the technical, social and moral practices of accounting and accountability are fully considered (see, Carnegie et al., 2024). In this sense, research which explores the ‘dark side’ of technology demands attention (see, for example, Spano, Massaro, Ferri, Dumay & Schmitz, 2022).

We invite papers using various methodological approaches, including deductive, inductive, and abductive studies of technology(ies) and social and environmental accounting using varied methods such as survey design, interpretive case studies, and critical approaches.

Potential topics to explore include, but are not limited to:

1)    What are the motivations and barriers for using technology(ies) to enhance social and environmental accountability?
2)    How is the adoption of new technology(ies) transforming the way that organisations capture, record, manage and report on their social and environmental impacts?
3)    How are challenges with integrating new technology(ies) with existing ‘legacy’ social and environmental accounting and management systems overcome? 
4)    How can/do different technologies interface with each other to enhance social and environmental accountability? What are the synergies and tensions in using different technologies?
5)    To what extent has new technology(ies) improved the efficiency and effectiveness of social and environmental accountability processes? Conversely, to what extent have technology(ies) potentially introduced dysfunctional social and environmental accountability systems? 
6)    How are people (e.g. accountants) using technology(ies) to manage and report on social and environmental impacts? What are benefits and challenges of doing so? Do different stakeholders (e.g. users versus organisations) have varied perspectives on the use of technology to enhance social and environmental accountability?
7)    How has technology(ies) changed organisational ‘culture’ and ethics in terms of social and environmental accountability? e.g. have understandings and constraints regarding transparency and trust shifted?
8)    To what extent has technology(ies) been able to include and emphasise marginalised social and environmental issues (and marginalised voices) in decision-making and reporting?

Guest editors

Charl de Villiers, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
Ruth Dimes, Open University, UK
Sanjaya Kuruppu, University of South Australia, Australia
Elisabetta Magnaghi, Kedge Business School, France
Eleonora Veglianti, Kedge Business School, France

Submission Information 

Please submit your paper during the submission window (1 October - 30 November 2025), using the AAAJ ScholarOne submission system at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/aaaj choosing this special issue in “Step 5” of the submission process in answer to the instruction: “Please select the issue you are submitting to.”

Please ensure you follow the author guidelines available at: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/aaaj

Submission deadline: 30 November 2025

References

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