Mediating Role of Environmental Management Accounting and Control System between Top Management Commitment and Environmental Performance: A Legitimacy Theory

The purpose of current study is to assess the impact of top management commitment on firms’ performance, based on legitimacy theory with mediating role of environmental management accounting and environmental management control system. Survey-based data has been collected through questionnaires from ISO 14001 based manufacturing firms of Pakistan. Path analysis has been conducted by applying structural equation modelling on total 304 respondents' data to answer the study hypotheses by using SPSS and AMOS. Results of the study indicate that there is a positive and direct impact of top management commitment on the firms' environmental performance. Moreover, environmental management accounting and control system significantly mediate the relationship between top management commitment and environmental performance. The theoretical model of this study is first time developed and tested by the researcher in Pakistan. Practically, the findings of this research give a deep insight and understanding of how the managers in Pakistan can improve the environmental performance of their firms, through commitment and environmental management accounting as well as environmental management control system tools.