Integrating Gender Equality Into Strategy Using Management Control Systems: Case Studies From Japanese Companies

In Japanese companies, gender equality has been one of the most pressing sustainability issues of the day. Accordingly, there has been a strong need to discuss gender issues from the perspective of Management Control Systems (MCSs). The degree to which gender equality is integrated into organisational strategy varies, depending on the configuration of each MCS. Thus, relying on the case studies of seven Japanese companies, this study investigates the configuration of MCSs based on their use and examines the degree to which the realisation of gender equality is integrated into organisational strategy. The results revealed the configuration of MCSs typified by their use and technical, organisational and cognitive dimensions in integrating gender equality into strategy in Japanese companies. This study contributes to research on management accounting and MCSs in gender accounting by showing the configurations of MCSs in terms of how gender equality is integrated into organisational strategy.