Highlighting some ‘blind spots’: Mapping the theoretical underpinnings of sustainability accounting and management research in Emerging and Developing Economies.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review and reflect on the contributions of the special issue on Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy in Emerging & Developing Economies (EDEs). Design/methodology/approach We seek to highlight some ‘blind spots’ in relation to the theoretical underpinnings of sustainability accounting and management research in the EDE context, before discussing the contributions of the accepted papers. Findings We review some of the key theoretical perspectives (stakeholder, legitimacy, political economy, and agency theories) adopted in sustainability accounting and management studies and discuss how future studies might take into account contextual insights for a better appreciation of policies and practices in EDEs. Some of the selected studies reveal the emergence of sustainability practices in EDEs and their largely instrumental or market-oriented explanatory factors while others bring to the fore the primacy of social-political factors. Research limitations/implications Whilst this paper does not provide a systematic review of the theories and evidence in the EDE context, it provides some insights on the special issue’s contributions to knowledge on sustainability accounting and management practices. Originality/value This special issue extends the burgeoning scholarship in the EDE context and provides directions and opportunities for future theoretically informed research.