dc.description.abstract |
Medium and large manufacturing firms immensely contribute to global warming through
air emissions, natural resources exhaustion, waste mismanagement and discharge of
untreated effluents. These adversely affect the ecosystem and human health calling for
research on corporate sustainability performance. Existing direct effect studies linking
Organisational Learning (OL) to Sustainability Performance (SP) have produced
inconclusive results in different contexts. Few conditional indirect effect studies have
been conducted in this area, particularly in developing countries. Anchored on the
stakeholder, organisational learning, dynamic capability, and upper echelon theoretical
framework, this study contributes to literature by examining the moderating effect of
CEO Values (CV) on the indirect relationship between OL-SP via Firm Innovativeness
(FI) in the Ugandan manufacturing sector. The study was guided by 10 objectives; To
examine the direct effect of OL, FI and CV on SP, OL and CV on FI. Further, the study
examined the indirect effect of FI between OL-SP. Also, the moderating effect of CV was
examined between OL-SP, FI-SP as well as between OL-SP. Lastly, the moderating
effect of CV on the indirect effect of OL on SP via FI was examined. A positivist
paradigm supported with an explanatory cross-sectional design was used to obtain
quantitative data from a sample of 256 medium and large manufacturing firms drawn
from a target population of 1221.The sampling of these firms followed a multistage
procedure. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to test hypotheses of the
direct effect relationships while PROCESS macro was used to test the indirect, interactive
and conditional indirect effect hypotheses. Findings show that; OL (β=.505, t=9.116), FI
(β=.618, t=13.293), and CV (β=.128, t=2.427) significantly affect SP. Similarly, OL
(β=.438, t=7.572) and CV (β=.511, t=9.737) significantly affect FI. FI significantly
mediate the link between OL and SP (Coeff=.324, 95% Boot CI =.236, .417) while CV
significantly moderates the link between FI and SP (Coeff= .13, t = 2.52, CI= .03,.23) and
OL and SP (Coeff=.19, t =2.57, CI= .01,.34). Lastly, findings show that CV has an
enhancing conditional effect on the indirect effect between OL on SP via FI (b=.080,
BootS.E=.034, BootCI=.015, .146). Overall, this study provides new insight by revealing
that FI significantly mediates the link between OL- SP, CV enhance the effect of FI on
SP, as well as the effect of OL on SP. In addition, there is evidence of a moderated
mediation effect of CV on the relationship between OL-SP via FI. Such that at higher
levels of CV, the indirect effect of OL on SP via FI is stronger. Therefore, industry policy
makers need to advance policies that promote learning and innovativeness among
medium and large manufacturing firms. Such policies need to encourage organizing
periodic learning sessions like dialogues, workshops, conferences, bench-marking tours,
trade fares, and exhibitions where owners and managers of manufacturing firms are
sensitized on innovative manufacturing practices that improve sustainability performance.
Additionally, the existing industrial policy need to be reviewed to stress the importance of
adopting sustainability manufacturing practices such as learning and innovativeness. To
managers of manufacturing firms, learning should be treated as a firm resource and
incorporated in the firm’s objectives, strategies, and core values. In addition, practices
such as teamwork that promote knowledge acquisition, sharing, utilisation and storage
need to be put in place. There is also need to establish a research and development
department that steers, guides, and oversees innovations in products and processes.
Further still, CEO values should be assessed during the hiring processes using appropriate
psychometric tests in order to identify and appoint CEOs value preposition is inclined
towards openness to change, flexible, challenge, stimulation, and self-directed. The
findings of this study withstanding, certain limitations were observed that call for further
research to test the hypothesised model in another context, following a mixed method
approach using a longitudinal design in order to validate the results obtained. |
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