Sustainability, artificial intelligence, and human capital are becoming increasingly important for the evolution of management control systems. Sustainability invites organisations to go beyond a traditional view of performance, by including environmental and social aspects together with economic results. In parallel, artificial intelligence, especially in its generative forms, is progressively changing business processes and decision-making practices, also introducing new challenges in terms of ethics and regulation. In this scenario, human capital represents a fundamental connection point: it is through people’s competences and critical awareness that companies can integrate technological innovation with sustainability goals. Within this evolving landscape, management control systems are not only challenged to adapt, but are also called to support the integration of these forces in a coherent manner. This Special Issue of Management Control, developed from the sessions dedicated to the journal at the 2024 SIDREA National Conference, collects contributions that explore how these three elements, sometimes in combination and sometimes separately, are influencing the transformation of management control systems.
Keywords: Sustainability, Artificial intelligence, Digital transformation, Human capital, Management control systems, Evolution
