This study was carried out from 1984 to 2013 in the context of governance, with a view to analyzing the discussions on transparency, accountability, and corruption in the public sector in professional journals. It aims to present the state of affairs in the literature in the field, the lessons learned by researchers who have addressed the issue, as well as an agenda for future research. To conduct the research, of an exploratory and descriptive nature, a structured process of literature review was developed inspired by previous studies, bringing about a sample of 63 articles. The results showed that there has been an increase in research interest on transparency, accountability, and corruption, particularly from the period in which the issue of public sector governance gains strength. It is argued that the fight against corruption and its relation to accountability and transparency in the public sector is not configured as a purely technical issue, but involves the government’s relationship with society and a need for greater citizen participation in the control of the actions of public actors.

The purpose of this article is to analyze, in a three-stage research project and from an economic an operational perspective, the relationships between environmental expenses, the improvements achieved in five environmental variables analyzed and efficiency. To achieve these objectives, we analyze sustainability reports and economic data from 24 Spanish ports. The three aforementioned stages of this research are the following: first, the analysis of the sustainability reports to determine the level of information; second, the analysis of the economic and operational efficiency; and, third, the analysis of the alignment with the environmental priorities of the Eco Ports-ESPO (European Sea Ports Organization). The results reveal that (1) the type of traffic does not affect environmental actions; (2) environmental performance (improvements) depends on environmental expenditures; (3) environmental spending and efficiency in port operations are correlated; and (4) environmental spending and port economic efficiency are correlated. The research can contribute to the decision-making process of port managers by revealing that the alignment with the EcoPorts priorities can be important to direct the environmental performance of the ports towards the global interests revealed in this indicator. It also reveals that environmental expenditures and investments may be related to environmental performance and economic and operational efficiency. However, it also reveals that it is important to improve the extent of environmental disclosure to better explain the qualitative and monetary characteristics of each piece of information provided about environmental performance.

En este trabajo se contextualiza el rol del control de gestión retomando sus orígenes, evolución y perspectivas futuras, especialmente en el convulsionado contexto del cambio tecnológico y de una economía digital. Para ello se caracterizan y se ejemplifican las diferencias entre el controller financiero y el de gestión. Luego de repasar las responsabilidades y tareas del controller de gestión y la importancia de su formación especializada, se presentan las implicaciones de las nuevas tecnologías y la economía digital para el desarrollo de habilidades y competencias en los controllers de gestión. Con todo ello, se concluye mostrando la importancia del esfuerzo formativo y de consolidación de la comunidad de controllers, que AICOGestión viene impulsando en Iberoamérica.

Environmental disclosure and economic efficiency: A correlational evaluation of Spanish ports authorities

En este artículo, se analiza la eficiencia económica y operativa de las Autoridades Portuarias españolas (AAPP) en el periodo 2005-2015, utilizando el Análisis Envolvente de Datos (DEA, Data Envelopment Analysis). En primer lugar, se calculan las medidas de eficiencia de cada AAPP desde un punto de vista operativo y económico; en segundo lugar, se clasifican las AAPP según los niveles de eficiencia alcanzados a lo largo del período de estudio, utilizando el análisis de conglomerados; en tercer lugar, se estudia la interdependencia existente entre los resultados de eficiencia operativa y económica encontrados en las distintas agrupaciones de las AAPP. Los resultados obtenidos evidencian que la eficiencia operativa es condición necesaria para ser económicamente eficiente, pero no es condición suficiente, analizando las posibles causas que ocasionan que una eficiencia operativa no siempre se traduce en una eficiencia económica.