http://hdl.handle.net/2268.2/8481 Tue, 08 Sep 2026 06:29:21 GMT 2026-09-08T06:29:21Z http://hdl.handle.net/2268.2/25743 Title: Research-Thesis: Barriers to the integration of non-financial dimensions in management control: the case of Walloon industrial companies. Abstract: Sustainability has become a central concern for industrial firms, reinforced in Europe by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and its principle of double materiality. Yet a clear gap persists between what firms report and how they are run. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) indicators have multiplied, but they rarely reach the management control systems that genuinely steer organisations, which were historically built around financial logic. This thesis examines that gap. Its central question asks what barriers limit the integration of ESG criteria into the management control systems of Walloon industrial firms, and how these barriers shape managerial decision-making. The study combines a review of the literature on management control and sustainability with a qualitative, multiple-case study of four firms differing in size, ownership and sector. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, it reads each case against an analytical framework distinguishing four families of barriers, namely economic and financial, technical and methodological, organisational and cultural, and external and institutional, together with the factors that facilitate integration. The findings show that integration is a matter of degree rather than presence or absence, and that the decisive boundary is investment appraisal. The four firms occupy distinct positions on this continuum. Crucially, the generic barriers do not operate independently but form a system whose force is governed by a few internal conditions, principally ownership and time horizon, organisational scale, and value-based leadership. Financial dominance is universal but softened by long-term ownership, measurement is necessary but not sufficient, and leadership anchored in values emerges as the decisive variable. The thesis contributes by shifting attention from disclosure to internal steering, and by showing why firms facing an identical regulatory environment integrate sustainability so differently. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 22:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2268.2/25743 2026-06-18T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2268.2/25726 Title: Research-Thesis: How do leaders, facing strong performance constraints and internal resistance, mobilize anticipated pride to steer their managerial decisions toward sustainability and foster their teams' pro-environmental behaviors? Abstract: Leadership, emotions, and sustainability are increasingly intertwined in today’s organizations. As companies face growing pressure to adapt their practices to environmental challenges, leaders play a decisive role in shaping how sustainability is understood, communicated, and implemented. This thesis examines how leaders, confronted with strong performance constraints and internal resistance, mobilize anticipated pride to steer their managerial decisions toward sustainability and to foster pro environmental behaviors within their teams. Based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with leaders responsible for sustainability-related issues, the study shows that anticipated pride is not only an individual emotion, but also a motivational resource that can support commitment, communication and collective engagement. Leaders use it to frame sustainability as a meaningful and pride-worthy objective, while also linking it to performance, credibility, and long-term organizational survival. However, the findings also show that this emotional driver operates within structural constraints such as me pressure, resistance to change, and lack of support from management. The thesis therefore highlights that sustainable leadership cannot be reduced to technical decision making alone. It depends equally on values, emotions, and the ability to create a sense of shared purpose. In this perspective, anticipated pride appears as a powerful lever for encouraging both leaders and employees to engage more actively in the ecological transition. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 22:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2268.2/25726 2026-06-18T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2268.2/25665 Title: Research-Thesis: L'impact des démarches RSE sur l'attractivité des clubs de football professionnel auprès des sponsors/partenaires: le cas du Standard de Liège. Abstract: This thesis explores the strategic role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in professional football to understand to what extent CSR practices influence a club's attractiveness to sponsors. A qualitative approach was adopted, combining semi-structured interviews and questionnaires with internal stakeholders of Standard de Liège (CSR managers, sporting director, communication officer, ticketing manager) and external partners (VOO, Darcis Chocolatier, Gaming1, Sobelvin, Eloy). The results show that CSR improves the club's image and reputation but does not generate new partnerships on its own. The most receptive sponsors are those who already have an integrated CSR culture. For more traditional partners such as Darcis, interest remains conditional on concrete and visible actions. The study also reveals that the commercial department acts as the key promoter of CSR. Without its initiative, CSR efforts remain largely invisible to partners. The lack of impact measurement tools emerges as the central weakness what cannot be measured cannot be sold. This finding is reinforced by the context of the Belgian sponsorship market, which is under structural pressure following the DAZN crisis and the withdrawal of sports betting sponsors. These results align with Fombrun's (1996) framework, which considers reputation as an asset of influence rather than of activation. Nevertheless, Liverpool FC stands as the benchmark, demonstrating that when impact is clearly measured and communicated, CSR becomes a genuine commercial argument. This work confirms that the link between CSR and sponsorship in Belgian football is real but still insufficiently significant. It also highlights the need to develop adapted measurement tools and to further involve the Pro League as a structuring actor. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 22:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2268.2/25665 2026-06-18T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2268.2/25180 Title: Research-Thesis: How are sustainability management control systems developed and used within a large industrial company to integrate sustainability issues into strategic and operational decision-making? Abstract: This thesis analyses how Sustainability Management Control Systems (SMCS) are developed and used within a large industrial company to integrate sustainability issues into strategic and operational decision-making. It draws on the literature on management control and sustainability to understand how management tools, indicators, and control practices support sustainable performance. The research adopts a qualitative approach based on a single case study of the Spadel Group. It relies on a document analysis covering the period 2014–2024 (annual reports and sustainability reports), as well as on semi-structured interviews conducted with employees holding key positions at both group and production site levels. The analysis focuses in particular on the structuring of SMCS, the use of indicators, data management, and their influence on decision-making. The results show that sustainability plays a central strategic role at Spadel, particularly due to the company’s dependence on a critical natural resource: water. SMCS have progressively strengthened over time, with an increase in the number of indicators and internal policies. However, a distinction emerges between indicators used for internal management and those mainly intended for external reporting. The thesis also highlights differences in the actionability of sustainability indicators and the role of SMCS in managing trade-offs between economic performance and sustainability objectives. This thesis contributes to the existing literature by providing an in-depth empirical analysis of SMCS in a specific industrial context and by highlighting the role of the operational context and data management in the integration of sustainability into management control systems. Tue, 13 Jan 2026 23:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2268.2/25180 2026-01-13T23:00:00Z