Các nhân tố ảnh hưởng đến thực hiện kế toán quản trị môi trường tại các doanh nghiệp sản xuất ở việt nam – nghiên cứu cho cáctomtat e

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY Prepared by NGUYEN THI HANG NGA FACTORS AFFECTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING IN MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN VIETNAM – A STUDY FOR THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES Major: Accounting Code: 9340301 SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION IN ECONOMICS ACADEMIC INSTRUCTORS: Ph.D PHAM NGOC TOAN Ph.D TRAN ANH HOA Ho Chi Minh City - 2018 The project was completed at: University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City Academic Instructors: Ph.D Pham Ngoc Toan Ph.D Tran Anh Hoa Reviewer 1: Reviewer 2: Reviewer 3: The dissertation will be presented to the Dissertation Board at the school level of University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City At … (hours) (day) (month) (year) The dissertation can be found at the library: The National Library and The Library of University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City INTRODUCTION Rationale for the research Sustainable development is an essential development trend of modern society, it is a “development which can satisfy the current need without affecting the ability to fulfil the need of future generations” (Keeble, 1998, p.20) In developed countries, green economy has become a business trend, while most developing countries temporarily prioritize economic development goals, and the operation of manufacturing companies which may lead to negative effect on the environment (O’Neill et al., 2005) However, under pressure of all stakeholders, firms have been doing business in a more responsible manner Therefore, in order to serve the business decision-making, in addition to information about revenues, costs and profits, which were considered to be enough for decisionmaking in the past, these days managers also need information related to the environment Environmental management accounting which appeared in the 1970s, is able to provide information to meet these requirements (Mohd et al., 2012) Performing environmental management accouting not only helps organizations conform to the law on environmental protection but also brings many benefits as well as ensuring the company’s business continuity and sustainable development (Delmas and Toffel, 2008) Nowadays, environmental pollution is a matter of global concern, thus corporate social responsibility is often given central focus in discussions (Sadeghzadeh, 1995) In Vietnam, over the past few years, environmental pollution has increasingly become complicated, especially environmental issues which cause frustration among the public tend to increase According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (2016, p.28), every day, an average of 30,000 tons of solid, liquid, gaseous wastes and other hazardous wastes are emitted from industrial zones, clusters and industrial parks The southern key economic region is an important economic region which makes great contribution to the economic growth of the country In 2016, the economic growth rate of this region was 1,5 times higher compared to the average growth rate of the whole country, its contribution to the budget accounted for 60% (Bui Ngoc Hien, 2017) However, along with the process of economic development, the southern key economic region has been subjected to enormous pressure on the environment According to published data, in many places the pollution index is to times higher than the permitted pollutant standard (Mac Thi Minh Tra, 2014) Facing this situation, the government, regulatory agencies, the mass media and the public will tighten their supervision on the compliance of environmental protection laws by businesses, organizations and individuals As a means for companies to manage their business and the environment, environmental management accounting has received increasing attention from authorities, firms and researchers As a relatively new branch of accounting, the number of research related to environmental management accounting is still very modest (Bouma and Van der Veen, 2002) There has not been much research on environmental management accounting implementation in developing countries (Herzig et al., 2012) Especially in Vietnam, environmental management accounting is a new field in both research and practical applications Environmental management accounting is not yet popular in enterprises and there are only very few number of in-depth studies on environmental management accounting (Pham Thi Bich Chi et al., 2016) Therefore, with the following reasons: (1) Sustainable development is the trend of modern society; (2) the role and benefits of environmental management accounting; (3) The need for environmental information of managers; (4) The actual situation of environmental pollution in industrial zones, clusters and parks in the southern key economic region; and (5) Lack of research on the factors affecting environmental management accounting implementation, the author has chosen the topic “Factors affecting the implementation of environmental management accounting at manufacturing companies in Vietnam – A study for the southern provinces” This research will investigate the relationship between factors and environmental management accounting implementation at manufacturing companies in the southern provinces 2 Goal and objectives of research 2.1 Goal: Examining the effect of each factor on environmental management accounting implementation in manufacturing companies in the southern provinces 2.2 Objectives: - Reseach objective 1: Determining factors which (directly and indirectly) affect environmental management accounting implementation in manufacturing companies in the southern provinces - Reseach objective 2: Measuring the level of (direct and indirect) impact each factor has on environmental management accounting implementation in manufacturing companies in the southern provinces Questions of research: The questions corresponding to each specific objective are shown as follow: - Reseach question 1: What are the factors affecting environmental management accounting implementation in manufacturing companies in the southern provinces? - Reseach question 2: How does each factor influence environmental management accounting implementation in manufacturing companies in the southern provinces at present? Subjects and scopes of research 4.1 Subjects of research: Environmental management accounting implementation and factors affecting the implementation of environmental management accounting 4.2 Scopes of research: The study is limited to the manufacturing companies in southern provinces The examined period is from December 2014 to June 2018 Research Methodology This research applies both qualitative and quantitative research methodology, which are conducted in two phases Using qualitative research methods, with expert interviewing techniques This qualitative research phase aims to: (1) Identifying the factors (direct and indirect) affecting environmental management accounting implementation in manufacturing companies in southern provinces, (2) Improving the measurement scale of environmental management accounting implementation and the scale of factors affecting environmental management accounting implementation Using quantitative research methods, through the collection of data using questionnaires and the application of SPSS and AMOS softwares to support data-processing This phase aims at solving the objective: Measuring the level of impact each factor has on environmental management accounting implementation at manufacturing companies in the southern provinces The scientific and practical significance of the thesis * Scientific significance: First, this study adds more information to the theoretical background of the factors affecting environmental management accounting implementation Second, besides the direct effects, this study also analyzes the mediating effects of factors on the implementation of environmental management accounting Third, this study investigates the relationship between factors in two different contexts (organizational and institutional context), through the examination of the effect of cognitive factors related to business environmental uncertainty on mimetic pressure when accelerating the implementation of environmental management accounting * Practical significance: In Vietnam, environmental management accounting is a new area of research and has not attracted much attention, hence this research is considered timely and appropriate The findings of the study will provide implications for manufacturing companies when implementing environmental management accounting This study also helps heighten managers’ awareness of doing business responsibly for the environment The knowledge obtained from this study could promote the implementation of environmental management accounting at manufacturing companies in the southern provinces as to increase the economic benefits, protect the environment and develop sustainably Structure of the thesis In addition to the introduction and conclusions, the thesis consists of contents: Chapter 1: Literature review Chapter 2: Theoretical background Chapter 3: Research methodology Chapter 4: Research results and discussion Chapter 5: Conclusions and some implications 3 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE OVERVIEW 1.1.1 Studies instructing how to implement environmental management accounting 1.1.1.1 Previous studies in the world The studies instructing the implementation of environmental management accounting have presented concepts, classification of environmental information, methods of environmental costs and incomes determination and guidelines on environmental management accounting Some typical studies are: USEPA (1995); Gray et al (1996), Epstein (1996a), Sefcek et al (1997); Elkington (1997); UNDSD (2001); Burritt et al.; Lamberton (2005); IFAC (2005) These studies have indicated many concepts of environmental management accounting and currently, there is no unified concept of environmental management accounting However, the concepts developed by UNDSD (2001) and those proposed by IFAC (2005) are used extensively in research on environmental management accounting (Schalteger et al., 2011) Studies which are also considered to be part of the studies instructing environmental management accounting implementation are those examining methods of environmental costs determination These include the following lines of research: (1) Material flow cost accounting (Schaltegger and Buritt, 2000; UNDSD, 2001; Federal Environment Ministry Germany, 2003; IFAC, 2005); (2) Life cycle costing (Schaltegger and Buritt, 2000; Parker, 2000); (3) Activity-based costing (Stuart et al., 1999); (4) Adequate cost accounting (Epstein,1996b; Bebbington et al., 2001); and (5) Full cost accounting (USEPA, 1995) The studies which are classified into group (1), (2), (3) aim to serve cost analysis, while the (4) and (5) types of studies aim to serve the purpose of evaluating investment projects 1.1.1.2 Previous studies in Vietnam Currently, in Vietnam, studies which instruct environmental management accounting implementation are mainly based on UNDSD (2001) and IFAC (2005) These studies focus primarily on concepts, classifications, methods of environmental costs and incomes determination and accounting treatment for environmental costs, incomes, or lessons learned from other countries in order to form the guidelines on environmental management accounting Some prominent studies include: Nguyen Chi Quang (2003); Tran Thi Hong Mai (2012); Pham Duc Hieu (2010); Vo Van Nhi and Nguyen Thi Duc Loan (2013); Huynh Duc Long (2015); Hoang Thi Bich Ngoc (2014); Huynh Duc Long (2016) 1.1.2 Studies on environmental management accounting application 1.1.2.1 Previous studies in the world Recently, many authors have devoted their attention to the applications of environmental management accounting in different organizations There are some typical studies, such as: Deegan et al (1996); Brown and Deegan (1998); Verschoor (1998); Bartolomeo et al (2000); Frost and Wilmshurst (2000); Frost and Seamer (2002); Burritt et al.; Masanet-Llodra (2006); Burritt and Saka (2006); Kokubu and Nashioka (2008) 1.1.2.2 Previous studies in Vietnam In Vietnam, there are only a small number of studies on the applications of environmental management accounting in companies (Pham Thi Bich Chi et al., 2016) These studies mainly focus on accounting treatment for environmental costs in companies operating in a specific field Some typical studies in this group are: Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet and Nguyen Chi Quang (2006); Bui Thi Thu Thuy (2010); Pham Hoai Nam (2016); Hoang Thi Bich Ngoc (2017) 1.2 STUDIES ON FACTORS AFFECTING ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING IMPLEMENTATION At present, there have been some in-depth studies on factors that influence the implementation of environmental management accounting in companies Some studies on factors affecting environmental management accounting implementation are: Ferreira et al (2010);Chang and Deegan (2010); Qian et al (2011); Jalaludin et al (2011); Christ and Burritt (2013); Alkisher (2013); Jamil et al (2015); Mokhtar et al (2016); Pham Thi Bich Chi et al (2016); Nguyen Thi Nga (2016); Nguyen Thi Hang Nga (2018a); Nguyen Thi Hang Nga (2018b); etc These studies will provide evidence and a more complete understanding to policy makers and advocates of implementing environmental management accounting Previous studies have mainly employed contingency theory and institutional theory to explain the implementation of environmental management accounting Among the factors influencing environmental management accounting implementation which are taken from the previous studies, there are six common factors supported by many authors: Coercive pressure, Normative pressure, Mimetic pressure, Awareness of business environmental uncertainty, Environmental Strategy, and Task complexity As proposed by Al Kisher (2013), it is possible to classify these factors into two groups, namely, the group of factors which belong to the contingency theory (organizational context) and the group of factors which are associated with the institutional theory (institutional context) 1.2.1 Factors related to institutional context Based on previous research using institutional theory to analyze the level of impact of external pressure on organizations while implementing environmental management accounting, there are three main elements of the institutional context chosen for analysis These factors consist of coercive pressure, normative pressure and mimetic pressure 1.2.1.1 Coercive pressure Coercive pressure is an impportant factor of the institutional theory, which is used to explain innovation in an organization (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983; Delmas and Toffel, 2004b) Some researchers has found the influence of coercive pressure on environmental management accounting implementation, such as: Ambe (2007); Chang and Deegan (2010); Qian et al (2011); Alkisher (2013); Jamil et al (2015); Nguyen Thi Nga (2016); Pham Thi Bich Chi et al (2016); Nguyen Thi Hang Nga (2018a) 1.2.1.2 Normative pressure The normative pressure of professional association is a factor which relates to institutional context, and it is a crucial factor in previous studies (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983; Chang and Deegan, 2010) Ambe (2007); Qian et al (2011); Jalaludin et al (2011); Alkisher (2013); Pham Thi Bich Chi et al (2016); Nguyen Thi Hang Nga (2018a) realize that the degree of implementing environmental management accounting is affected significantly by normative pressure 1.2.1.3 Mimetic pressure Mimetic pressure is one of the factors of institutional theory, some researchers such as Qian et al (2011); Jalaludin et al (2011); Jamil et al (2015); Pham Thi Bich Chi et al (2016) examined the influence of this factor on environmental management accounting implementation 1.2.2 Factors related to organizational context Ferreira et al (2010); Chang and Deegan (2010); Qian et al (2011); Alkisher (2013); Christ and Burritt (2013); Mokhtar et al (2016) studied a large number of factors of organizational context that affect the technical and administrative improvements of companies Based on documents related to environmental management accounting implementation, three main variables referred to institutional context were selected for the analysis of environmental management accounting implementation in manufacturing companies in the southern provinces, namely: environmental strategy, awareness of business environmental uncertainty and task complexity These variables are chosen due to their importance in previous studies or their significant impact on environmental management accounting implementation 1.2.2.1 Awareness of business environmental uncertainty Business environment is a factor referred to organizational context in studies applying contingency theory (Chenhall, 2003) If an organization experiences considerable changes in business environment, it may need to reform the accounting system so as to provide more information for decision-making in order to minimize the impact of the business environment and manage related costs (Gul and Chia, 1994) Awareness of the business environmental uncertainty is found to be a great explanatory variable for implementing environmental management accounting in a number of studies like Chenhall (2003); Qian et al (2011); Nguyen Thi Hang Nga (2018b) 1.2.2.2 Environmental strategy With respect to environmental management accounting, Parker (1997) reveals that the implementation of environmental management accounting may depend on the organization’s environmental strategy This result is also confirmed in the study of Ferreira et al (2010); Qian et al (2011); Cadez and Guilding (2012); Christ and Burritt (2013); Alkisher (2013) Recently, Pham Thi Bich Chi et al (2016); Nguyen Thi Hang Nga (2018b) has found evidence of the effect of environmental strategy on environmental cost management accounting implementation in manufacturing companies in Vietnam 5 1.2.2.3 Task complexity The work of an organization (often referred to as organizational task) relates to the type of work done by an organization (Daft and Macintosh, 1978) The task comprises the complexity of the task execution process, the amount of time needed to think about solutions to problems related to the work, and the knowledge required to perform tasks (Perrow, 1967) As regards environmental management accounting, the findings of Woodward (1965); Chang and Deegan (2010); Qian et al (2011) indicate that environmental management accounting implementation has a strong relationship with task complexity 1.3 SOME COMMENTS ON PREVIOUS STUDIES 1.3.1 Respondents of previous studies Studies related to the application and implementation of environmental management accounting have given the views of managers more attention than others’ views Focusing solely on the managers’ views is not appropriate enough to explain the factors that may influence the application and implementation of environmental management accounting, thus there need to be additional research based on the views of other respondents 1.3.2 Results of previous studies 1.3.2.1 Coercive pressure There are some differences between previous studies on coercive pressures in motivating companies to adopt and implement environmental management accounting Ambe (2007); Chang and Deegan (2010); Alkisher (2013); Jamil et al (2015); Nguyen Thi Nga (2016); Pham Thi Bich Chi et al (2016); Nguyen Thi Hang Nga (2018a), found that coercive pressure is one of the most important factors affecting the implementation of environmental management accounting However, the study of Jalaludin et al (2011) suggests that coercive pressure does not have a strong influence on the application of environmental environmental management accounting 1.3.2.2 Normative pressure Contrary to expectations, the study of Chang and Deegan (2010); Jamil et al (2015) presents that the pressure of professional and formal education associations (normative pressure) does not have a signifcant impact on the application of environmental management accounting Meanwhile, Ambe (2007); Qian et al (2011); Jalaludin et al (2011); Alkisher (2013); Pham Thi Bich Chi et al (2016); Nguyen Thi Hang Nga (2018a) found that normative pressure is the most important factors affecting environmental management accounting implementation Therefore, the conclusions of the effect of normative pressure still vary between previous studies 1.3.2.3 Mimetic pressure Studies conducted by Qian et al (2011); Alkisher (2013); Nguyen Thi Hang Nga (2018a) indicate a positive effect of mimetic pressure on environmental management accounting implementation in Vietnamese manufacturing companies Nevertheless, the results of Chang and Deegan (2010); Jalaludin et al (2011); Jamil et al (2015); Pham Thi Bich Chi et al (2016) report that mimetic pressure does not have a considerable influence on the application of environmental management accounting 1.3.2.4 Awareness of business environmental uncertainty While awareness of business environmental uncertainty is found to be a major explanatory factor for the implementation of environmental management accounting (Chenhall, 2003; Qian et al., 2011; Nguyen Thi Hang Nga, 2018b), Osborn (2005) argues that the effect of awareness of business environmental uncertainty on environmental management accounting implementation is not as significant as the impact of other random variables Similarly, Chang and Deegan (2010); Pham Thi Bich Chi et al (2016) also found no evidence of the effect of awareness of business environmental uncertainty on the implementation of environmental management accounting 1.3.2.5 Environmental strategy The findings of Chang (2007) suggest that the environmental strategy does not significantly affect the application of environmental management accounting This conclusion is not consistent with the findings and expectations of Kokubu and Nashioka (2006); Qian et al (2011); Christ and Burritt, 2013; Alkisher, 2013; Pham Thi Bich Chi et al (2016); Nguyen Thi Hang Nga (2018b), who say that corporate strategies are one of the most crucial factors influencing the implementation of innovation in organizations 6 1.3.2.6 Task complexity Qian (2007) has interpreted task complexity as the complexity of the work involved in the production process Hence, Qian discusses that the more complex the task (in relation to the production process) is, the more necessary it is for the company (or organization) to implement environmental management accounting in order to obtain useful information According to Keit (2011), Dikgwatlhe (2013), and Kotzee (2014), task complexity is perceived as the complexity associated with the implementation of environmental management accounting Therefore, as the task complexity increases, it will hinder the implementation of environmental management accounting 1.3.3 The number of previous studies Despite a wide range of studies on the application of environmental management accounting in different countries around the globe, only a few number of studies focus on environmental management accounting in developing countries In Vietnam, recently this subject has attracted attention from several authors, for instance, Hoang Thi Bich Ngoc (2016); Pham Thi Bich Chi et al (2016); Nguyen Thi Nga (2016) Nonetheless, these authors only consider one aspect of environmental management accounting, which is environmental cost management accounting Besides, the scopes of their studies are limited in a specific business sector 1.4 Gaps of the research and Orientation to the research 1.4.1 Gaps of the research In Vietnam, environmental management accounting is not yet popular in companies and only a few number of studies into environmental management accounting were carried out (Pham Thi Bich Chi et al., 2016) The results of some studies in foreign countries have revealed factors that affect the implementation of environmental management accounting in organizations However, most of these studies did not comprehensively examine all factors and they also ignored the indirect effect which factors may have on environmental management accounting implementation Furthermore, there are differences between the findings in previous studies The results of some studies not meet the theoretical expectations, or contradictory to the arguments and findings reported in the research on factors affecting the implementation of environmental management accounting 1.4.2 Orientation to the research Firstly, this research inherits information from previous study on factors affecting the implementation of environmental management accounting, while examining the indirect effect of factors on environmental management accounting implementation Secondly, this study is one of the few studies which analyze how factors from two different contexts (organizational context with factors developed from contingency theory and institutional context with factors developed from institutional theory) affect the implementation of environmental management accounting by investigating the impact of awareness of business environmental uncertainty on mimetic pressure during the implementation of environmental management accounting 1.5 SUMMARY OF CHAPTER The chapter provided an overview of previous studies in the world which examine factors affecting the implementation of environmental management accounting By reviewing these previous studies, the author has found the gaps of the study and hence, determining the research orientation to the thesis CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 AN OVERVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING 2.1.1 History of formation and development 2.1.2 Definitions and classification of Environmental accounting 2.1.3 Definitions of Environmental management accounting The definitions of environmental management accounting are widely diverse (for example: Bennett and James, 1998; Bartolomeo et al., 2000; UNDSD, 2001; Jasch, 2003; Bouma and Correlje, 2003; IFAC, 2005; Staniskis and Stasiskiene, 2006) Although there are some differences in definitions of mannagement accounting in terms of scope of application, most definitions explain that environmental management accounting is an additional information system for management accounting It is not a separate system, but it helps to improve the management accounting system The definition provided by Bennett and James (1998) is chosen for the objectives of this research Accordingly, “Environmental management accounting is an information system which provides monetary and non-monetary information to improve and evaluate economic and environmental efficiency of a company” This definition highlights the importance of information generated by environmental management accounting in order to enhance the financial and environmental efficiency of an organization 2.1.4 Subject of Environmental management accounting According to IFAC (2005), subjects of environmental management accounting include: - Accounting for environmental cost - Accounting for environmental revenues and incomes - Accounting for resource efficiency assessment 2.1.5 Types of Environmental management accounting information The implementation and application of environmental management accounting in an organization must include accounting measured in terms of money (financial information or monetary information) and accounting measured in terms of other units (non-monetary information) about using materials, labor hours as well as other cost control 2.1.6 Content of Environmental management accounting The contents of environmental management accounting in companies are approached from different angles - As regards the work cycle, environmental management accounting comprises the following contents: + Organizing the collection of initial information (determining environmental costs and incomes) + Organizing the systematization and processing of environmental information (synthesizing and distributing information about environmental costs and incomes, Life Cycle Cost, Material Flow Cost Accounting, Input Output Analysis) + Organizing the analysis of environmental performance + Organizing the supply of environmental information (environmental management accounting report) To conclude, environmental management accounting implementation consists of organizing the collection of information, processing, analyzing and providing environmental information 2.2 RELATED FOUNDATION THEORY 2.2.1 Institutional theory 2.2.1.1 The concept of institutional theory Institutional theory mentions changes in organizational behavior (changes in models, strategies, processes, methods, techniques, etc.) due to pressure from stakeholders and the ways that organizations may to survive and develop legally (Ninh Thi Kim Thoa, 2015) 2.2.1.2 Basic elements of institutional theory Scott (1995) classified the three elements of institutional theory into: Coercive pressure, normative pressure and mimetic pressure - Coercive pressure is the state that organizations are subjected to the official or unofficial pressure exerted by external authorities (government, regulators, customers, suppliers), which causes them to change the system and procedures so as to comply with the regulations - Normative pressure, which requires organizations to adhere to professional standards, rules, principles and professional ethics, this pressure is applied to organizations by education and professional associations - Mimetic pressure presents the pressure which organizations need to seek for patterns of successful organizations to learn their activities, models, processes, methods and techniques 2.2.1.3 The effect of institutional elements on environmental management accounting implementation The effect of institutional elements on implementing environmental management accounting is explained in figure 2.2 below 8 Coercive pressure Environmental management accounting implementation Normative pressure Mimetic pressure Source: Summary of author Figure 2.2: The effect of institutional elements on environmental management accounting implementation 2.2.1.4 The application of institutional theory to the research In addition to the three main pillars of institutional theory that affect the implementation of environmental management accounting as explained in Figure 2.2, Delmas and Toffel (2004b) suggest that there may be interaction between institutional elements For example, under coercive pressure from the authorities, organizations and professional associations may have to develop more stringent standards, and professional bodies as well as professional associations have encouraged companies operating in the same business network to imitate the behavior of other organizations For the above arguments, the institutional theory employed in this study is presented in figure 2.3 below Coercive pressure Environmental management accounting implementation Normative pressure Mimetic pressure Source: Summary of author Figure 2.3: The application of institutional theory to the research 2.2.2 Contingency theory 2.2.2.1 The concept of contingency theory Contingency theory suggests that there is no general accounting system suitable for all organizations in all circumstances, organizations must continually assess and improve their management accounting systems in order to withstand the challenges of a constantly changing environment and an everchanging organization (Hutaibat, 2005) 2.2.2.2 Basic elements of contingency theory In previous studies, a large number of random factors were found to have impact on designing the accounting system In particular, random factors having effect on the design of management accounting system which were examined in most studies are: environment, strategy and organizational tasks (Chenhall, 2003) - Awareness of business environmental uncertainty is considered to be awareness of the inability to control or accurately forecast the future status of the business environment - Environmental strategy is a comprehensive plan related to the environmental performance of a company, with the purpose of deploying resources to establish a favorable environment for the company, including: complying with environmental regulations, producing environmental protection solutions, aiming at providing environmentally friendly products and achieving environmental certification 9 - Task complexity is perceived as the level of difficulty in the process of implementing environmental management accounting (in terms of cost, time, effort, the complexity to solve problems related to the task), and the requirements of knowledge needed to perform the task 2.2.2.3 The effect of contingency elements on environmental management accounting implementation Figure 2.5 below illustrates how the elements of contingency theory affect the implementation of environmental management accounting Awareness of business environmental uncertainty Environmental strategy Environmental management accounting implementation Task complexity Source: Summary of author Figure 2.5: The effect of contingency elements on environmental management accounting implementation 2.2.2.4 The application of contingency theory to the research Apart from the three main elements of contingency theory that affect the implementation of environmental management accounting as presented in figure 2.5, as per the theoretical framework of Gordon and Miller (1976) about the impact of random variables on organizational behavior, random factors not only have direct effect but also produce indirect effect on the accounting information system of an organization through the influence of business environment on attributes of the organization By developing the research framework of Gordon and Miller (1976), Gupta and Govindarajan (1984) argues that an organization can choose different strategies to tackle business environmental uncertainty This implies that awareness of business environmental uncertainty will affect a company’s environmental strategy which, in turn, will affect the implementation of environmental management accounting Hence, the contingency theory applied to this study is presented in figure 2.6 below Awareness of business environmental uncertainty Environmental strategy Environmental management accounting implementation Task complexity Source: Summary of author Figure 2.6: The application of contingency theory to the research 10 2.3 FACTORS AFFECTING ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTATION FROM THE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ACCOUNTING 2.3.1 Implementing environmental management accounting 2.3.2 Factors affecting the implementation of environmental management accounting 2.4 DEVELOPING THE RESEARCH HYPOTHESES Based on the literature review and results of related studies, the author has formulated the following 14 hypotheses: Table 2.5 Research hypotheses Hypotheses Hypotheses and Expected Sign Expected sign H1 Coercive pressure has direct effect on environmental management accounting implementation + H2 Normative pressure has direct effect on environmental management accounting implementation + H3 Mimetic pressure has direct effect on environmental management accounting implementation + H4 Awareness of business environmental uncertainty has direct effect on environmental management accounting implementation + H5 Environmental strategy has direct effect on environmental management accounting implementation + H6 Task complexity has direct effect on environmental management accounting implementation - H7 Coercive pressure has direct effect on Normative pressure + H7A Coercive pressure has indirect effect on environmental management accounting implementation, through the mediating role of Normative pressure + H8 Normative pressure has direct effect on Mimetic pressure + H8A Normative pressure has indirect effect on environmental management accounting implementation, through the mediating role of Mimetic pressure + H9 Awareness of business environmental uncertainty has direct effect on Mimetic pressure + H9A Awareness of business environmental uncertainty has indirect effect on environmental management accounting implementation, through the mediating role of Mimetic pressure + H10 Awareness of business environmental uncertainty has direct effect on Environmental strategy + H10A Awareness of business environmental uncertainty has indirect effect on environmental management accounting implementation, through the mediating role of Environmental strategy + Source: Proposed by the author 11 2.5 RESEARCH MODEL Besides the relationship illustrated in figure 2.3 and 2.6, according to the new institutional theory proposed by DiMaggio and Powell (1983), simulation is a process of mimicking standard patterns to confront business environmental uncertainty This implies that awareness of business environmental uncertainty has impact on mimetic pressure Therefore, the research model is proposed as follows: H9 Awareness of business environmental uncertainty Mimetic pressure H3 H4 H10 H8 H5 Environmental strategy Environmental management accounting implementation H2 Normative pressure H1 H6 Task complexity H7 Coercive pressure Source: Proposed by the author Figure 2.7: Research model 2.6 SUMMARY OF CONCLUSION FOR CHAPTER Chapter has systematized the general theoretical literature and provided a basic foundation for environmental management accounting and the factors that can affect the process of implementing it This chapter then discusses the application of foundation theories, including: contingency theory and institutional theory to explain the implementation of environmental management accounting Furthermore, chapter also highlights issues that have been considered and tackled by research associated with environmental management accounting implementation These issues were analyzed and argued for developing the theoretical framework for this study Chapter will provides details on the research methodology of the thesis CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN 3.1.1 Determining the research methodology This research was conducted by combining two methods: in the first phase of the research process, qualitative research was carried out and quantitative research was conducted in the second phase 3.1.2 Justifying the design of sequential mixed research This study chooses sequential mixed methods As per Tashakkori and Teddlie (1998), designing a sequential mixed method with qualitative research followed by quantitative research is a popular sequence, because in most studies, quantitative tools are used after collecting a suitable sample from qualitative interviews and the collected qualitative data is analyzed 3.2 RESEARCH PROCESS According to Nguyen Dinh Tho (2013, p.34), the research process combining qualitative and quantitative methods can be carried out as follows: - (1) Using qualitative study to adjust the scale - (2) Using quantitative pilot study for preliminary evaluation of the scale Since the scales used in the research are inherited from developed countries and applied to developing countries, the quantitative pilot study is very important (Hair, 2010) - (3) Using the official quantitative study (main study) to test the scale and theoretical model In this study the author has conducted the research process which consists of these following steps: - Define the research problem - Review the previous studies and studying the foundation theories 12 - Propose the research model - Discuss with experts (n = 8) - Carry out quantitative pilot study (n = 128) - Establish the official research model - Conduct quantitative research, n = 323 (Descriptive statistics analysis, Cronbach’s Alpha reliability test, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, regressing and testing with structural equation modeling, analyzing the differences using ANOVA test) - Write a report 3.3 QUALITATIVE STUDY The qualitative study focused on two main purposes : (1) identifying factors that have direct and indirect effect on environmental management accounting implementation at manufacturing companies in the southern provinces, (2) improving the scale which measures the implementation of environmental management accounting and the scale of factors affecting environmental management accounting implementation The method used in the qualitative study for this research is interviewing experts According to Hair et al (2010), qualitative research is critically important when the scales used in developed countries are inherited and applied to developing countries 3.4 QUANTITATIVE STUDY 3.4.1 Quantitative pilot study Quantitative pilot study is an important stage in identifying errors or flaws while designing questionnaires for the official research process Furthermore, the quantitative pilot study will help to revise the question items as to ensure the reliability and values of the scale Hair et al (2010) argue that qualitative and quantitative pilot research are very important as question items and scales were taken from different sources and these scales are applied in specific contexts 3.4.2 Main study The purpose of the quantitative research phase is to analyze the implementation of environmental management accounting and to investigate the level of impact each factor has on environmental management accounting implementation in manufacturing companies in the southern provinces 3.5 SUMMARY OF CHAPTER Chapter has presented the research methodology used in this study By analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of each method, the author argues that the sequential mixed method (carrying out qualitative study before doing quantitative study) is best suited for achieving goals and answering research questions Moreover, each step of conducting qualitative study and quantitative study is also presented clearly in Chapter CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 QUALITATIVE RESULTS The qualitative research stage helps the author to identify the factors that affect the implementation of environmental management accounting as well as improve the environmental management accounting implementation scale and scale indicating factors that affect the implementation of environmental management accounting Specific results are as follows: 4.1.1 Scale of Environmental management accounting Implementation The scale of performing environmental management accounting is abbreviated to KTQTMT, which is developed by Ferreira et al (2010); Christ and Burritt (2013); Jalaludin et al (2016) Many experts have commented and adjusted, resulting in the measurement for implementation of environmental management accounting implementation consists of observed variables 4.1.2 Coercive Pressure Scale Coercive pressure scale was developed and used by Jalaludin et al (2011); Jamil et al (2015) Through discussions, experts contributed to the removal of some inquiries, due to their inadequacy in the context of Vietnam, eliminating some inquiries as they tend to overlap with other items and supplement one inquiry which is related to the pressure from the local government The result shows that the coercive pressure scale, abbreviated to ALCE, consists of eight observed variables 13 4.1.3 Normative Pressure Scale The normative pressure scale, which is ALQC in short and created by Jalaludin et al (2011); Jamil et al (2015) consists of two observational variables Through discussions, the experts added one observed variable “When participating in activities related to the environment, the enterprises’ performances are influenced by information transmitted by these activities.” Consequently, the ALQC scale consists of observed variables 4.1.4 Mimetic Pressure Scale The mimetic pressure scale, abbreviated to ALMP, set by Jalaludin et al (2011); Jamil et al (2015) consists of four observed variables However, through discussions, experts commented that “businesses often mimic environmental activities that other businesses have done” should be removed because it is difficult for experts to identify which enterprises are “other businesses” As a result, the ALMP scale is adjusted to observed variables 4.1.5 Scale of Awareness Of Business Environmental Uncertainty Scale of awareness of business environmental uncertainty was proposed by Chang (2007), which included observed variables In the opinion of the experts, the authors have eliminated two observed variables The first one is about “behavior of parties related to environment”, because according to experts it is often difficult to perceive behavior of the objects The second is the about “the impact of environmental issues on the performance of enterprises”, because experts say that in the context of Vietnam, most businesses are not fully aware of the impact of the environmental issues to their activities As a result, the scale for the business environmental uncertainty (abbreviated to MTKD) is represented by five observed variables 4.1.6 Environmental Strategy Scale The environmental strategy scale, which is CLMT in short, was proposed by Chang (2007); Qian (2007) The Qian’s original scale (2007) consists of four observed variables, after which experts suggest adding a variable of “the company aims to provide eco-friendly products” that results in the CLMT scale consists of observed variables 4.1.7 Scale of The Task Complexity The scale used to measure the complexity of the task is abbreviated to NVTC and was proposed by Keit (2011) According to the experts’ comments, this scale was re-adjusted in terms of penmanship, and included four observed variables 4.2 RESULTS OF QUALITATIVE PILOT STUDY 4.2.1 Results of The Analysis of The Scale Reliability The study consists of seven scales, and the Cronbach’s Alpha reliability test results indicate that most scales meet the requirements The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient is greater than 0.6 and the corrected item-total correlation is greater than 0.3 Only the Coercive pressure (ALCE) scale has two variables, ALCE and ALCE 8, which have corrected item-total correlation less than 0.3, should be discarded 4.2.2 Results of Exploratory Factor Analysis When the scales assure reliability, the next step is taken to analyze the exploratory factor Performing analysis for factors related to institutional theory and contingency theory, the results show that the six factors with the coefficient KMO = 0,697> 0.5 and the value of Sig = 0,000 so the factor analysis method is appropriate The value of Eigenvalues = 1.518 and the total variance explained = 63,55% so the conclusion is accepted in EFA analysis Performing factor analysis for the KTQTMT Scale shows that one factor with coefficient KMO = 0,897> 0.5 and Sig = 0,000 is extracted, thus the factor analysis method is appropriate Eigenvalues = 4,66 and total variance explained = 51,82% so the conclusion is satisfactory when performing exploratory factor analysis 4.3 OFFICIAL RESEARCH MODEL Through qualitative research and preliminary quantitative research, models and research hypotheses remain the same as originally proposed 4.4 RESULTS OF OFFICIAL QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH 4.4.1 Describe the research sample 4.4.2 Descriptive statistics analysis 14 Descriptive statistics results show that in general, the level of environmental management accounting implementation of enterprises in the sample is moderate The average of the Environmental management accounting implementation is 2,95 on the 5-point likert scale In particular, the highest mean value of the observed variable is 3,59 which belongs to KTQTMT1 variable (Determining the cost related to the environment) and the lowest mean value is 2,19 belonging to the KTQTMT8 variable (the enterprises analyze the efficiency of environmental performance) Enterprises assess the awareness of the business uncertainty at a relative level The average of the business environment scale (MTKD) is 3,3 Environmental strategies of enterprises are evaluated to be over average and relatively equal The mean value of the CLMT scale is 3,371 whereas the mean value of the variables is above 3,2 The task complexity scale was rated to be the highest with an average of 3,58 Meanwhile, observed variables have an average value of 3,68 and above, with the exception of observed variable NVTC4 (It’s very difficult to quantify environmental impacts) which is rated to be the lowest with a mean value of 3,22 The mean value of the ALCE scale is 3.38, which is higher than any other pressure scales (the average of ALQC scale is 2,94 and ALMP scale is 3,13) The ALQC scale has three observation variables, the mean value of the highest variable is 3.03 and the observed variable which has the lowest mean value is of 2,79 ALMP scales with observed variables are all above average Meanwhile,the observed variable “companies often imitate the environmental activities that large enterprises in the same industry have done” has the highest average value of 3,18 and the observed variable “companies often imitate the environmental activities that multinational companies have done” has the lowest average value of 3,05 4.4.3 Scale Reliability Test and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) 4.4.3.1 Scale Reliability Test The study includes scales with a total of 34 observed variables Those are reflective scales and are derived from previous studies so the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient is used to test the scale reliability The test results show that the scales meet the requirement of reliability, except that the observed variable CLMT5 of the CLMT scale has a corrected item-total coefficient of 0,286, less than 0,3, so the CLMT5 observed variable will be rejected off the scale The final result consisted of 33 observed variables for the scales taken into the confirmatory factor analysis 4.4.3.2 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) Scales continue to be used to perform exploratory factor analysis before conducting confirmatory factor analysis Results of exploratory factor analysis revealed that KMO = 0,916 with Sig value = 0,000, the factor loadings are greater than 0,5 and the difference among factor loadings of variables are all less than 0,3; Eigenvalues value stops at the seventh factor, which was 1,141, greater than and the total variance explained is 67,780%, higher than 50% Consequently, the exploratory factor analysis is appropriate 4.4.4 Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) Following the exploratory factor analysis, the concepts with 34 observed variables will continue to be included in the confirmatory factor analysis The standards used in this study when performing CFA are CMIN / df ≤ 3, TLI, CFI ≥ 0,9 and RMSEA ≤ 0,08 (Nguyen Dinh Tho, 2008) to estimate if the research model is in line with market data The result from the CFA analysis of the critical model indicates that the coefficients meet the requirement Specifically, CMIN / df = 1,996 is less than 3; TLI = 0,911, CFI = 0,920, which are both greater than 0,9 and RMSEA = 0,056, which is less than 0,08 The minimum standardized regression coefficient is 0,529 and the maximum is 0,883 which are therefore greater than 0,5 and are statistically significant at 1% due to the Sig value = 0,000 Thus, it can be concluded that the observed variables used to measure the concepts in the model are convergent and unidimensional The result of differential validation in the critical model indicates that the concepts in the research model achieved a distinctive value because the correlation coefficient and standard deviation were all less than and significant at the significant level of 5% 15 Source: Amos data processing results Figure 4.3 The results of CFA analysis with the critical measurement model 4.4.5 Structural Equation Modeling Analyis (SEM) 4.4.5.1 Theoretical model testing After the CFA analysis meets the demand, the research conducted the test of theoretical model using the SEM model The result of SEM model test shows that the model has df = 517 degrees of freedom, Chi-Square = 1075,100; TLI = 0,903; CFI = 0,911 which means these are all greater than 0,9; RMSEA = 0,058 less than 0,08 and CMIN/df = 2,079 which is less than 3; P = 0,000 This result shows that the theoretical model is consistent with the research data Estimation coefficients (beta coefficients) in the structural model are positive, which represents the positive relationships among the variables except for the NVTC variable which has negative beta coefficient representing a reverse relationship between NVTC and KTQTMT All of these relationships are statistically significant at the 5% level The standardized beta coefficients among relationships show stronger or weaker influences among variables in the research model When considering the relationship between factors and environmental management accounting, the level of influence each factor has on environmental management accounting is arranged in decreasing order: CLMT (β-standardized = 0.385), MTKD (β-standardized = 0.339), ALQC, NVTC (β-standardized = -0.161), ALMP (β-standardized = 0.151), ALCE (β-standardized = 0.130) 16 Source: Amos data processing results Figure 4.4: Result of SEM model test of standardized theoretical model 4.4.5.2 Testing the estimates of theoretical model with Bootstrap After analyzing the SEM model, the study conducted bootstrap testing to re-estimate parameters in the theoretical model which were previously estimated using the ML (Maximum Likelihood) estimation method Bootstrap is a repetitive sampling method in which the initial sample acts as a crowd To conduct a bootstrap test, this study will select repeated samples with a size of 500 samples The estimating results show that all the Bias and Standard error of Bias are very small and the absolute critical ratio (CR) is less than 2, so it can be concluded that the deviation is very small and statistically significant at the 95% confidence interval Thus, all of the estimates in the theoretical model have gained credibility 4.4.5.3 Testing the hypotheses  Tests on direct impacts After analyzing and testing the goodness of fit of the SEM model, the next step is to test the hypotheses Results of the estimation of causal relationship between the concepts in the research model are shown in Table 4.24 Table 4.24 Results of testing the direct impacts Hypothesis Relationship Unstandardized Coefficients P-value Result H1 ALCE -> KTQTMT 0,112 0,011 Accept H1 (5%) H2 ALQC -> KTQTMT 0,156 0,000 Accept H2 (1%) H3 ALMP -> KTQTMT 0,111 0,000 Accept H3 (1%) H4 MTKD -> KTQTMT 0,202 0,000 Accept H4 (1%) H5 CLMT -> KTQTMT 0,200 0,000 Accept H5 (1%) H6 NVTC -> KTQTMT - 0,169 0,000 Accept H6 (1%) 17 H7 ALCE -> ALQC 0,579 0,000 Accept H7 (1%) H8 ALQC -> ALMP 0,140 0,028 Accept H8 (5%) H9 MTKD -> ALMP 0,187 0,000 Accept H9 (1%) H10 MTKD -> CLMT 0,841 0,000 Accept H10 (1%) Source: Amos data processing results The result in Table 4.24 shows that the relationships between direct impacts in the model are statistically significant at the 1% significance level, except for the relationship between ALMP and ALQC and the relationship between ALCE and KTQTMT which are statistically significant at the 5% significance level Moreover, there is a relationship with a negative beta coefficient showing the opposite effect, which is the relationship between NVTC and KTQTMT (β = -0,169) The remaining coefficients are positive, indicating direct relationships among variables  Tests on indirect impacts The results of testing intermediate impacts (indirect effects) are given in Table 4.25 as shown below Table 4.25 Results of testing the intermediate effects Hypothesis Direct Impact (β) Indirect Impact (β) Result H7A ALCE->ALQC->KTQTMT 0,111* 0,1** Accept H7A H8A ALQC->ALMP->KTQTMT 0,157** 0,016** Accept H8A H9A MTKD->ALMP->KTQTMT 0,212** 0,02** Accept H9A H10A MTKD->CLMT->KTQTMT 0,201** 0,17** Accept H10A Note: * is the 5% significance level, ** is the 1% significance level Source: Amos data processing results 4.4.6 Analysis of variance (Anova Analysis) 4.4.6.1 Analysis of variance according to line of business (firms with environmentally sensitive and non- environmentally sensitive business) The result of ANOVA analysis illustrates that at the 1% significance level, it can be concluded that there is a difference in the implementation of environmental management accounting between enterprises with environmentally sensitive and non- environmentally sensitive business (Sig = 0.000) In particular, enterprises with sensitive business (the mean is 3,24) performed environmental management accounting more than those with non-sensitive business (the mean of which is 2,35) 4.4.6.2 Analysis of variance by forms of business ownership The result of the Tamhane test for each pair of ownership indicates that there is a difference in implementing environmental management accounting between the group of state-owned enterprises and enterprises with other capital; between foreign-invested enterprises and enterprises with other capital at the 1% significance level (Sig = 0,000) Specifically, foreign-invested enterprises (3,25 on average) and state-owned enterprises (3,11 on average) performed environmental management accounting at a higher level than enterprises with other capital (2,74 on average) at the 1% significance level 4.4.6.3 Analysis of variance according to total assets of the enterprise The result of Tamhane test for each pair of enterprises’ total assets shows that at a significance level of 1%, it can be concluded that there is a statistically significant difference in the environmental management accounting implementation between groups of enterprises with capital scale over 100 billion VND and the remaining groups with other capital scale It means that the group of enterprises with capital scale over 100 billion (3,17 on average) performs environmental management accounting more than the groups with capital scale from 50 to 100 billion (2,91 on average), the group of 20 to 50 billion (the mean is 2,75) and the group of less than 20 billion (the mean is 2,74) 18 4.5 DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS 4.5.1 Key findings from the research R2 = 64,9% in the linear regression model indicates that independent variables in the model explain 64,9% of the variance in the dependent variable (see Appendix 10.4) All 14 hypotheses were statistically significant (except for the H1 hypothesis and the H2A hypothesis are statistically significant at a 5% significance level, the remaining hypotheses are statistically significant at significance level of %) Among the direct effects of independent variables, while ALQC, ALMP, MTKD and CLMT all have postive effects on environmental management accounting implementation at a 1% significance level, ALCE has a positive impact on environmental management accounting implementation at a 5% significance level This implies that in order to promote environmental management accounting implementation in manufacturing companies in Southern provinces, they should increase ALCE, ALQC and ALMP, encouraging the implementation of the environmental strategy and increase the awareness of business environmental uncertainty The task complexity (NVTC) adversely influences the implementation of environmental management accounting at a significance level of 1% Therefore, in order to promote environmental management accounting implementation, it is necessary to reduce the difficulties and complexities in the process of implementing environmental management accounting The indirect impact of ALCE on the implementation of environmental management accounting through the mediating role of ALQC is statistically significant at a 1% significance level and the indirect effect of ALQC on environmental management accounting implementation through the mediating role of ALMP is statistically significant at a 1% significance level (see Table 4.25) This result is consistent with the theoretical expectations and findings of Delmas and Toffel (2004b) The indirect effect of MTKD on the implementation of environmental management accounting through the intermediary role of CLMT and ALMP are also statistically significant at the 1% significance level (see Table 4.25) This result is in accordance with conclusions from the theory and results from previous studies For example, Qian (2007) stated that CLKD plays a mediating role in the relationship between the awareness of business environmental uncertainty and environmental management accounting implementation in companies Or the study of DiMaggio and Powell (1983), which reveals that simulation is a process of mimicking standard patterns to cope with the business environmental uncertainty These results are in harmony with expectations from contingency theories and institutional theories, as well as in accordance with a large number of previous studies presented in the overview of this research 4.5.2 Findings from factors of institutional theory The result of this study indicates that ALCE, ALQC and ALMP are important factors in promoting environmental management accounting implementation Besides, ALMP is also influenced by awareness of business environmental uncertainty This result is similar with previous studies For instance, Jalaludin et al (2011) reported that ALMP is the result of responses to awareness of business environmental uncertainty, or as per DiMaggio and Powell (1983), simulation is a process of mimicking the standard patterns to deal with awareness of business environmental uncertainty 4.5.3 Findings from the factors of contingency theory The findings of this study suggest that all three variables of contingency theory, including task complexity, environmental strategy, and awareness of business environmental uncertainty are important factors in promoting environmental management accounting implementation To be more specific, awareness of business environmental uncertainty has both direct and indirect effect on environmental management accounting implementation through the intermediary role of CLMT and ALMP 4.5.4 Comparison between the level of explanation of contingency theory and institutional theory When comparing the level of interpretation of environmental management accounting implementation between the two theories, the study reveals that contingency theory has strongly explained the implementation of environmental management accounting in manufacturing companies The three factors of contingency theory explain 61,4% of the variation in environmental management accounting implementation Meanwhile, the three factors of institutional theory only explain 35% of 19 the change in environmental management accounting implementation at manufacturing companies in the southern provinces Hence, it can be concluded that manufacturing companies in Vietnam seem to be more likely to implement environmental management accounting for organizational goals (strategy, mission, environmental uncertainty) rather than seeking legitimacy from social and community (institutional pressures) This may be because enterprises have not received sufficient information about the regulations, as well as information on social trends and environment, thereby weakening the potential motivation from the institutional pressures 4.6 SUMMARY OF CHAPTER From the result of the qualitative research phase, the author has identified factors that affect environmental management accounting implementation, as well as the scale measuring environmental management accounting implementation together with the scale of factors that affect environmental management accounting implementation The quantitative pilot study phase was carried out to revise questionnaires once again so that the formal survey will be formed The result of qualitative research and quantitative pilot research is the formal research model used for offcial quantitative research As regards the result of official quantitative research, 10 factors which impact on environmental management accounting implementation were detected from the study In particular, factors have direct effect and the other have indirect effect Of the direct effect of independent variables, ALCE, ALQC, ALMP, MTKD, and CLMT have positive effect on the implementation of environmental management accounting, whereas task complexity (NVTC) has the negative effect Considering the relationship between factors and environmental management accounting, the level of influence of each factor on environmental management accounting is arranged in decreasing order: CLMT (β-standardized = 0,385), MTKD (βstandardized = 0,339), ALQC, NVTC (β-standardized = -0,161), ALMP (β-standardized = 0,151), ALCE (β-standardized = 0,130) The indirect impact of the business environment on the implementation of environmental management accounting through the intermediary role of CLMT and ALMP is also statistically significant at the 1% significance level Additionally, the study found indirect effect of ALCE on environmental management accounting implementation through the intermediary role of ALQC and the indirect effect of ALQC on environmental management accounting implementation through the intermediary role of ALMP These results are in accordance with theoretical expectations and findings from previous studies Comparing the level of interpretation of environmental management accounting implementation between the two theories, the study reveals that contingency theory has strongly explained the implementation of environmental management accounting in manufacturing companies CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND SOME IMPLICATIONS 5.1 CONCLUSION 5.1.1 Research objectives The main objectives of this thesis are: Identifying the factors that (directly and indirectly) affect environmental management accounting implementation and measuring the level of (direct and indirect) impact of each factor on environmental management accounting implementation at manufacturing companies in southern provinces To achieve these objectives, this thesis applies a mixed methodology: First, the qualitative research phase is carried out by interviewing experts, then the quantitative research is conducted by surveying 322 manufacturing companies in the southern provinces, with the support of SPSS 20 and AMOS 20 data analysis software The qualitative research phase helps the author to compile a list of potential explanations for (direct and indirect) influences on environmental management accounting implementation, it also helps improve the environmental management accounting implementation scale and scale of factors affecting the implementation of environmental management accounting at manufacturing companies in Southern provinces Thus, the first research objective has been achieved The purpose of the quantitative research phase is to analyze the implementation of environmental management accounting at manufacturing companies and to determine the level of impact each factor has on environmental management accounting implementation at manufacturing companies in Southern provinces The result of survey data analysis helps to measure the level of influence (both direct and indirect) of factors on environmental management accounting implementation at manufacturing companies in the southern provinces Therefore, the second research objective has also been achieved 20 5.1.2 Main findings from the study Results obtained from a sample of 323 manufacturing enterprises have shown that the implementation of environmental management accounting is merely at an average level (2,95 on a 5-point Likert scale) and is primarily focused on identifying costs that relates to environment (3,59 on average) The information processing, information analysis and reporting on the environment are just below average The observed variable “Analysis of environmental performance efficiency” has the lowest mean, standing at 2,19 on the 5-point Likert scale Results from the regression and hypotheses test show that all six factors have a statistically significant effect on environmental management accounting implementation The most influential factors was CLMT (βstandardized = 0,385), followed by the effect of factors such as ALQC, NVTC, ALMP The weakest influence belongs to ALCE (β-standardized = 0,130) Except for task complexity (NVTC), which has the adverse effect on environmental management accounting implementation, the other factors have positive effect on environmental management accounting implementation In addition to the direct effect, hypotheses about indirect effect on environmental management accounting implementation have also been tested and accepted at a 1% significance level Particularly, MTKD also has indirect effect on environmental management accounting implementation through the intermediary role of CLMT and ALMP ALCE has an indirect impact on environmental management accounting implementation, through the intermediary role of ALQC Moreover, ALQC also has an indirect impact on environmental management accounting implementation, through the intermediary role of ALMP These results indicate that contingency and institutional theories have been very useful in explaining the implementation of environmental management accounting in manufacturing companies 5.1.3 Contributions of the research This study is one of the few studies which analyze the indirect effect on environmental management accounting implementation based on proposal of Delmas and Toffel (2004); Qian (2007); Gordon and Miller (1976) This has broadened the influence of factors that may affect the implementation of environmental management accounting, since further consideration has been given to the intermediary effect of variables in the model In addition, this study also represents the first attempt to analyze the pathway between elements from two different contexts (organizational and institutional context) to environmental management accounting implementation, by examining the influence of awareness of business environmental uncertainty on ALMP in the process of promoting the implementation of environmental management accounting, based on the theoretical framework of DiMaggio and Powell (1983) Findings from this study provide a theoretical framework that explains the implementation of environmental management accounting, based on the combination of contingency theory and institutional theory Furthermore, this study has also helps to raise awareness among managers in Vietnamese manufacturing companies of the role and benefits of environmental management accounting implementation.Hence, this study has contributed to the implications for impulsing environmental management accounting implementation in Vietnamese manufacturing companies, with an aim of increasing economic benefits, protecting the environment and sustainable development 5.2 IMPLICATIONS DEVELOPED FROM RESEARCH 5.2.1 Implications developed from institutional theory Research shows that ALCE comes from official or unofficial pressures exerted by external authorities (government, regulators, customers, suppliers) that have positive impact on urging and encouraging enterprises to implement environmental management accounting This implies that when enterprises face strong pressure from the government and other authorities, they will increase the level of environmental management accounting implementation The results of this study provide support to the proposals that government and relevant authorities should publish the necessary legal documents and establish programs, guidelines for implementation, or hand out awards to encourage businesses to implement environmental management accounting as soon as possible 21 Next, pressure from professional institutions and educational institutions have positive impact on environmental management accounting implementation Thus, when ALQC increases, it will positively impact on environmental management accounting implementation In other words, businesses with a high level of awareness of normative pressure (ALQC) are more likely to implement environmental management accounting than others This implies that professional agencies and educational institutions should enhance their role in increasing ALQC on manufacturing companies in southern provinces to promote environmental management accounting implementation Higher educational institutions and professional associations, such as the Vietnam Association of Accountants, the Association of Chief Accountant should help enterprises recognize the importance and benefits of environmental management accounting implementation to drive businesses to selfcompliance towards rules, standards and professional ethics Finally, ALMP comes from cognitive pillar In this study, ALMP coming from firms in the same business sector is the second most influential factor among the factors of institutional theory that affect environmental management accounting implementation This result implies that when ALMP is increased, the environmental management accounting implementation in manufacturing companies will increase Therefore, the community of enterprises, such as the Association of Local Enterprises, the Association of manufacturing enterprises, etc can play an active role in stimulating their members to implement environmental management accounting through giving awards for green production, sustainable production in order to create incentives for businesses to mimic the operation of each other, including environmental management accounting implementation 5.2.2 Implications developed from contingency theory Although environmental management accounting is a tool to provide relevant information for noncompulsory decision making as compared to financial accounting, but if the awareness of business environmental uncertainty is high, businesses must collect and process a lot of information about the environment and therefore environmental management accounting implementation will increase The result of the study shows that awareness of business environmental uncertainty positively affects environmental strategy Thus, in the context of increased business environmental uncertainty, enterprises will choose to promote environmental strategies and actively apply environmental management accounting system to manage environmental information This implies that for the environmental management accounting to be implemented by manufacturing companies, it is necessary to increase awareness of business environmental uncertainty and promote environmental strategies According to the results of this study, environmental strategy has the strongest influence on environmental management accounting implementation (shown through the highest standardized coefficient which is 0,385) This result implies that CLMT is the most important variable contributing to environmental management accounting implementation at manufacturing companies in southern provinces Thus, in order to diffuse the implementation of environmental management accounting, the environmental strategy of enterprises should be the first problem to solve and improve In order to this, enterprises need to set general targets and policies on environment in addition to providing eco-friendly products, commit to comply with environmental regulations and provide solutions to manage and protect the environment The task complexity is also a crucial factor in explaining the implementation of environmental management accounting The results show that, the higher the task complexity of environmental management accounting implementation is, the lower environmental management accounting is likely to be implemented (the standardized beta coefficient in the regression model is – 0,161) This implies that in order to increase environmental management accounting implementation, it is necessary to reduce task complexity when performing environmental management accounting Therefore, the relevant authorities should issue guidelines for environmental management accounting implementation as soon as possible Moreover, because environmental management accounting requires multidisciplinary knowledge, in order to reduce the difficulty of quantifying the effect on environment, it is critical to provide accounting knowledge to those working in the environmental field, broaden environmental knowledge to accounting staff and combine programs to analyze environmental information in the accounting software to support the implementation of environmental management accounting for accountants so as to reduce their time and effort 22 5.3 LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 5.3.1 Limitations of the research This study examined manufacturing companies in some provinces in Southern Vietnam with the main participation of accountants, management accountants or chief accountants (consisting of about 96% of the respondents) Moreover, respondents in the sample who is in charge of management accountants position only account for a small percentage Most of the respondents said that enterprises not organize the management accountants department independently with other accounting departments, but the Financial accounting department or the chief accountants always take care of this matter Therefore, when generalizing the results from the research sample, this process should be done carefully and researchers should expand the scope of research with the participation of other objects (for example, CFOs, Executive Directors, Management accountants) and service companies which have not been mentioned in this study should also be added to the sample Another limitation relates to the time scope of this study Due to limited time and resources, survey data is available only at a timing, future research may be conducted over a long period of time (many years in a row) to increase the generalization in the next research 5.4 Further research directions A number of opportunities for future research are opened up by this study, here are the following suggestions: Although the 323 firms surveyed may represent a relatively good sample size for the SEM linear regression model, future studies should increase sample size for more general results On the other hand, this study only examines the relationship among some of the variables belonging to contingency and institutional theories about environmental management accounting implementation Future studies should consider other variables that may affect the process of performing environmental management accounting such as organizational culture, awareness of the importance of environmental management accounting In addition, future research may investigate the relationships presented in this study to determine whether the findings from this study may be applied to other contexts GENERAL CONCLUSION This research has made profounding contributions by adding theoretical knowledge and studies on environmental management accounting, a field in which not much in-depth research has been carried out The study was conducted to examine practically the effect that variables of contingency theory (MTKD, CLMT, NVTC), and variables of institutonal theory (ALCE, ALQC, ALMP) have on environmental management accounting implementation in manufacturing companies in southern provinces using the linear regression model The findings of this study show that there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between all variables and environmental management accounting implementation (except for task complexity, which has an adverse relationship with environmental management accounting implementation) Moreover, the findings from this study are consistent with foundation theories and findings in previous studies Empirical evidence from this study has contributed to the complement of knowledge in environmental management accounting in particular and the application of innovations in general The results can also be used to provide information to managers or decision makers, in order to consider implementing environmental management accounting with the aim of increasing economic benefits and achieving sustainable development This research represents one of the few empirical studies in Vietnam that analyzes the influence of factors related to the context of contingency theory and the context of institutional theory on environmental management accounting implementation The study also investigates the intermediary role of CLMT and ALMP in the relationship between awareness of business environmental uncertainty and environmental management accounting implementation, the effect of ALCE on ALQC as well as the effect of ALQC on ALMP in the relationship with environmental management accounting implementation In the future, further research needed to be conducted to analyze the impact of factors presented in this study and to add more factors involved in the implementation of environmental management accounting in order to gain a better understanding of performing environmental management accounting in other contexts and countries THE PUBLICATIONS RELATED TO THE THESIS I ARTICLES: Nguyen Thi Hang Nga (2018), Institutional pressure and environmental management accounting implementation in manufacturing firms in Vietnam, Journal of Economics and Development, Vol 250(2)/2018, pp 129 – 138 Nguyen Thi Hang Nga (2018), The effects of the business environmental uncertainty and the business strategy to implementing environmental management accounting in manufacturing firms in Vietnam, Journal of Economics and Development, Vol 252(2)/2018, pp 42 – 52 Nguyen Thi Hang Nga, Pham Ngoc Toan and Tran Anh Hoa (2017), Corporate characteristics and the levels of environmental management accounting implementation at manufacturing firms in Vietnam, Vietnam Association of Accountants and Auditor Journal, Vol 171/2017, pp.53 – 56 Nguyen Thi Hang Nga and Nguyen Kim Nam (2016), The relationship between green marketing and green brand image in banking industry: the perspective of consumers for environmental concern, Banking Science & Training Review Journal, Vol 10/2016, pp 53-58 Nguyen Thi Hang Nga (2017), Organic food purchasing behavior of young consumers: the role of enviromental concern, Journal of Economics and Development, Vol 126, 5B/2017, pp 59-71 Nguyen Thi Hang Nga and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Diep (2018), Impacts of green marketing on the green brand image and equity in banking sector, WSEAS Transactions on Business and Economics Journal, Vol 15, 2018, pp 452-460 II INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE Nguyen Kim Nam and Nguyen Thi Hang Nga (2016), Oganic food purchasing behavior of young consumers: The role of environmental concern, Modern indelogies in economics and governance & the application for Vietnam after joining AEC and TPP, Ho Chi Minh –Vietnam, ISBN 978-604-922-388-4, pp 835 - 847 III SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH TOPIC Green marketing factors affect the green brand image and equity in banking in Vietnamese commercial banks Scientific research project at University level, Banking university of Ho Chi Minh City, 2018, code: CT-1803-83 (research project Manager: Nguyen Thi Hang Nga), Rank: Good ... difference in implementing environmental management accounting between the group of state-owned enterprises and enterprises with other capital; between foreign-invested enterprises and enterprises... Enterprises assess the awareness of the business uncertainty at a relative level The average of the business environment scale (MTKD) is 3,3 Environmental strategies of enterprises are evaluated... additional research based on the views of other respondents 1.3.2 Results of previous studies 1.3.2.1 Coercive pressure There are some differences between previous studies on coercive pressures in