Exploring the Inclusion of Sustainability into Strategy and Management Control Systems in Peruvian Manufacturing Enterprises

Abstract

The aim of this work is to explore the incorporation of sustainability into strategy and management control systems (MCSs) in Peruvian manufacturing enterprises in the plastics sector. The study focuses on identifying and analyzing the current way they incorporate and manage sustainability to determine the shortcomings that must be corrected in the future to design an effective performance management system (PMS) that includes sustainability to help companies achieve sustainable growth. The method of multiple case study analysis was used. Data was obtained from four Peruvian manufacturing firms in the plastics sector through seven semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that sustainability is partially incorporated into the company’s strategy, and that especially in medium-sized enterprises, managers do not know how to implement sustainable management accurately. Concerning MCSs used, in medium-sized companies, short-term planning is carried out and they are limited to the control of the economic operational perspective and lack concrete measures regarding social and environmental aspects. Finally, we conclude that this study allowed us to know how sustainability is really managed in Peruvian manufacturing enterprises in the plastics industry and that it is necessary for these companies not only to incorporate sustainability into their strategy but also to implement a holistic PMS to be used as a broad-scope MCS to achieve sustainable growth.