Why conventional costing systems stabilise organisations against sustainability-oriented change: costing logics and the persistence of non-change

Purpose This paper aims to explain how and why conventional costing systems stabilise organisational decision-making in the face of sustainability-oriented change. It develops a theoretically grounded account of the mechanisms through which established costing logics shape the incorporation of sustainability into organisational practice. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a critical–conceptual approach grounded in management accounting, sustainability control systems and organisational change literature. It re-theorises the design logic of conventional costing systems and examines how their assumptions operate through four interrelated mechanisms: boundary-setting, temporal framing, valuation logics and accountability arrangements. Findings The analysis shows that the limited influence of sustainability on costing practices reflects organisational stabilisation rather than measurement failure. Costing systems absorb sustainability demands by rendering them peripheral, deferrable, selectively valued or weakly accountable. Sustainability may therefore gain visibility but rarely becomes decision-relevant unless aligned with core control systems and embedded within organisational routines. Research limitations/implications As a conceptual study, the paper does not provide empirical testing, but offers a framework for analysing how organisational and technical conditions shape sustainability integration. Practical implications Meaningful sustainability integration requires reconfiguring control systems rather than incrementally extending existing costing techniques. Social implications The study highlights how internal decision systems may neutralise sustainability concerns, limiting organisational responsiveness to long-term social and environmental challenges. Originality/value The paper reconceptualises sustainability integration as an outcome shaped by the alignment of control systems and organisational structures, repositioning costing systems as active organisers of organisational non-change and potential transformation.