Sustainability Management Accounting and Firm Performance: The Moderating Role of Sustainable Governance

Rosalinda Sinaga; Erizal Wibisono Santoso; Santi Yopie

doi:10.24843/EJA.2026.v36.i08.p07

Authors

Rosalinda Sinaga Faculty of Business and Management Universitas Internasional Batam, Indonesia
Erizal Wibisono Santoso Faculty of Business and Management Universitas Internasional Batam, Indonesia
Santi Yopie Faculty of Business and Management Universitas Internasional Batam, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24843/EJA.2026.v36.i08.p07

Keywords:

Sustainability Management Accounting, Sustainable Governance, Fixed Effect Model, Firm Performance, Manufacturing Company

Abstract

Purpose - This study examines the effect of Sustainability Management Accounting (SMA) on firm performance, measured through Return on Assets (ROA), and the moderating role of Sustainable Governance (SG) in this relationship, while also responding to methodological gaps in prior studies that generally used limited samples and did not explicitly address potential endogeneity issues. Research Method - A quantitative approach was applied through a causal-comparative design using balanced panel data covering 68 manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2020-2024, yielding 340 observations. The estimation model was selected through a series of specification tests (Chow Test, Hausman Test, and Breusch-Pagan LM Test), leading to the use of a Fixed Effect Model (FEM) with robust standard errors. Endogeneity and model robustness were tested through System-GMM (Arellano-Bond) estimation and five robustness test scenarios. Findings - SMA has a positive and significant effect on firm performance (β = 0.196; t = 2.430; sig. = 0.016). The interaction of SMA × Sustainable Governance shows a significant positive coefficient (β = 0.138; t = 2.339; sig. = 0.020), proving that the quality of sustainability governance strengthens the effect of SMA on firm performance. This finding is consistent across all five robustness test scenarios, including when potential endogeneity is addressed through System-GMM estimation. The FEM explains 43.88% of within-firm variation in ROA (R² within = 0.4388). Implication - The findings confirm that SMA implementation supported by strong Sustainable Governance contributes meaningfully to performance improvement, not merely a correlative relationship, but one that is relatively robust to various statistical robustness tests. Manufacturing companies are advised to integrate sustainability considerations into operational decision-making simultaneously with strengthening adequate governance structures.

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