Examining barriers to organizational change for sustainability and drivers of sustainable performance in the metal manufacturing industry

Abstract Traditionally, the metal manufacturing industry in China is focused only on economic growth and just in the past decade, environmental regulatory policies have started to emphasize organizational sustainable improvements. Thus, the metal manufacturing industry in China has a high potential for value addition and organizational change for sustainability. The success of organizational change for sustainability should be based on an in- depth insight into barriers to organizational change for sustainability and drivers which support sustainable performance. In this context, this study employed interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique and Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to examine the barriers to organizational change for sustainability and drivers which support sustainable performance. Firstly, ISM technique was applied to select the key barriers to organizational change for sustainability based on experts’ evaluations in the Chinese metal manufacturing industry. Then, TOPSIS model was applied to assess and prioritize the drivers which support sustainable performance with respect to their influence on the key barriers. Based on the study results, inefficient legal framework, inadequate proactive plans, lack of sustainable waste management and preferences of institutional buyers are the key barriers. Furthermore, enforcing government regulations, integrating sustainability in proactive plans, promoting sustainable products and developing infrastructure support and facility for sustainability were found to be the most influential drivers. This study will enable managers and government bodies to manage their resources in an efficient way so that organizational change management for sustainability can be achieved in the metal manufacturing industry in China.