Activity-based costing system, commonly known as the ABC system, emerged as a costing method capable of overcoming the limitations of traditional costing systems in face of economic and technological developments, namely, the arbitrary and imprecise allocation of indirect costs from distortions in the imputation criteria. In the current context, the development of an adequate costing system is of extreme importance in organisations because they feel the need to properly manage the resources at their disposal and control their costs to achieve efficient and effective management. Thus, this study aims to analyse international publications on the activity-based costing system in recent years, identifying trends in evolution and future research opportunities. Based on bibliometric techniques, the outputs obtained in the Web of Science (n = 752) and Scopus (n = 1107) databases were analysed in bibliometrix R package to make a systematic mapping and review of the literature. After removing duplicates, we obtained a final output of 1419 articles. The analysis of these publications points to a growing trend in the publication of articles on ABC, highlighting publications in partnership and their dispersion in magazines from different areas. The bibliometric analysis carried out results on the authors’ global research performance over time, and we highlighted the pioneering publications every five years and analysed the general evolution. When analysing based on publication authors over time, we highlighted the main research themes and countries where studies had been carried out. On the other hand, we also highlighted the collaborative network between institutions, authors, and countries over time.

Advantages and contributions in the balanced scorecard implementation

This paper aims to develop a proposal for implementing the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) in a large Portuguese company that operates in the textile sector, intending to promote its subsequent implementation. Through a qualitative research approach, a case study was carried out, using interviews, which allowed clarification of the strategic guidelines of the company under study. It was found that the organization under analysis has defined the main pillars for building the BSC: the mission, values and vision. It was also found that this is an organization with an open culture, concerned with developing efforts to create and implement tools that allow clear and fluid communication of strategic objectives in all sectors that incorporate it. It was also possible to assess that the BSC is a tool known to all employees. Everyone recognized that it would be a useful tool for improving organizational performance to meet strategic objectives. However, some factors were also found that can hinder its implementation, such as the availability of time, the organizational culture and everyone’s commitment to the execution of this strategic management tool.

Including social and environmental concerns in decision-making processes and business operations is essential for organizations. Management control systems are crucial in integrating sustainability issues into decision-making processes. Thus, this study aims to analyze international publications about the relationship between management control systems and sustainability, identifying trends in evolution and future research opportunities. Based on bibliometric techniques, the outputs obtained in the Web of Science (n = 139) and Scopus (n = 73) databases were analyzed in the bibliometrix R package to map and systematically review the literature. After removing duplicates, we obtained a final output of 157 articles. The analysis of these publications draws attention to the relevance and emergence of these topics in academic and business circles and concludes that this area of knowledge has gained relevance in the last five years of research. The originality of this study lies in its ability to offer valuable insights that can shape future research agendas. By focusing specifically on how management control systems support or hinder sustainability initiatives, the study fills a gap in existing literature, which often treats these subjects separately. Future research can focus on the challenges of integrating sustainability into accounting frameworks and the role of technology in accounting for sustainability. The continuous study of these topics is essential to enable professionals and organizations to face contemporary challenges, ensure ethics and transparency, promote sustainability and responsibility, and ensure long-term success in a world increasingly aware of environmental and social issues.

In this article we aim to analyze the relationship between a set of organizational extrinsic and intrinsic factors and the adoption of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) by privately-owned Portuguese organizations (large companies and small and medium enterprises). These factors are related to companies age, the diversity of products and services, the nature of the ownership structure, the internationalization, and the organizational size. As a primary means of data collection was carried out a postal survey through a questionnaire sent to 549 privately-owned Portuguese organizations, with an overall response rate of 28.2%. The results indicate that the degree of diversity of the products/services of the organization, the ownership of foreign groups, and the organizational size are positively associated with the implementation of the BSC. Thus, we conclude that the BSC increases with the degree of diversity of the products/services of the organization, that the Portuguese organizations that use the BSC are mainly owned by foreign groups; and larger organizations are most likely to use this tool

The family business is one of the world economy’s leading drivers, playing a significant role in countries’ economic and social development. Portugal is a country very dependent on this type of companies, which makes this study important, not only for discussing the problem in this scientific field but also for understanding family business characteristics in a country so dependent on this type of business. In this sense, this research work’s general objective is to understand the reality of the management of family businesses in the footwear industry, through the vision of the CEO’s of five companies in the North of Portugal. The present study is qualitative, as interviews were carried out with five CEOs of family businesses. The authors collected the participants’ reports between June and July 2019, in a single moment, through a face-to-face interview held at their respective workplaces, after prior scheduling. The interviews were recorded using an audio recorder and later transcribed and imported for analysis. The results obtained demonstrated that these organizations contribute enormously to the country’s economic and social development. This study also contributes to improving the understanding of the subject under analysis, through interviews with CEOs in the footwear industry in the Northern region of Portugal, exposing in more depth this representative and emerging sector, in a country mostly characterized by family businesses. It also aims to contribute to understanding the main determinants and characteristics of family businesses in the literature, like family businesses and performance, namely, ownership, professionalization, company–family relationship, succession, management and performance practices. With this study’s results, it is also expected that they may be susceptible to discussion and comparison with family businesses from other countries and from different business areas.