Sustainable manufacturing drivers and firm performance: Moderating effect of firm size

Abstract

The growing concern of the negative impact of manufacturing activities on triple bottom line has led researchers to embark on sustainable manufacturing study. Empirical evidence from previous research has demonstrated that sustainable manufacturing is a comprehensive strategy to minimize the negative impact to the environment. However, study on the link of sustainable manufacturing drivers and firm performance in Malaysia remains inconclusive, thus need for further investigation. Moreover, the possible explanation for the inconsistent relationship is due to the difference in firm size of manufacturing firms involved in sustainable manufacturing activities. This research intends to investigate the moderating effect of firm size on the relationship between SM drivers and firm performance. Data was collected from selected industries in manufacturing firms in Malaysia and analyzed with SEM-AMOS. The empirical result revealed that firm size moderates the relationship between market forces and strategic leadership with firm performance. The relationships between policy and regulation and resource availability with firm performance were not significantly moderated by firm size. The results indicate that larger firms will experience a higher rate of firm performance as having advantage of firm size compared to smaller firms.

A Study on the Sustainable Growth of SMEs: The Mediating Role of Organizational Metacognition

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“…Being more prone to stakeholders' pressure (from consumers, shareholders, suppliers, regulatory authorities, non-governmental organizations and public), large-sized firms feel bound to adopt green practices and take green initiatives on a large scale. In a recent study, Roni et al (2017) further posits that resources are generally channelized by firms only if they are expected to positively impact their performance.…”