Is the economic dimension inducing the other sustainability dimensions, or is it the reverse? Perceptions from the Portuguese metal industry

ABSTRACT

In organizational sustainability, the economic dimension is recognized as having a very important role. However, the discussion regarding whether it is exclusively the economic dimension that has the power to induce the other sustainability dimensions is far from agreement. The purpose of the present paper is to analyze the perceptions regarding the existence of mutual influences between the economic dimension of sustainability and the other sustainability dimensions – environmental, social and cultural – in a relevant Portuguese economic sector: the metal industry. The analysis and statistical tests performed with the 211 collected answers led to the conclusion that the influence exerted by the economic dimension on the other sustainability dimensions is perceived as dominant, both in present and future perspectives. The results also show the perception that the economic dimension is equally influenced by the environmental and social dimensions, and in a less extent, by the cultural dimension, and that all these mutual influences are perceived to increase in the future. The existence of organizational management systems has a positive effect on the perceptions regarding the existence of mutual influences between sustainability dimensions, but only for those companies with more than one certified management system. These results confirm that organizational management systems are connected to higher degrees of awareness regarding sustainability issues. Given that the great majority of the sampled industries are SMEs, the results obtained in this research demonstrate that the existence of mutual influences between sustainability dimensions is recognized even in small-sized industries.

KEYWORDS:

• Organizational sustainability
• sustainability dimensions
• management systems
• metal industry
• small and medium enterprises (SMEs)

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank all the respondents of the research survey, and also the contribution of the industrial associations AIMMAP and ANEME in the distribution of the questionnaire amongst its members.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research work was supported by national funds provided by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, in the scope of FCT Project UID/Multi/04546/2016.