Sustainability Governance and Strategic Management as Predictors of Financial Performance in the Food Processing Industry

Sustainability has become a key strategic priority in resource-intensive industries such as food processing, yet limited research has examined how specific internal sustainability governance and management components influence firm financial performance. Drawing on the institutional theory and Resource-Based View, this study investigates the direct effects of sustainability-oriented vision and business policy, sustainability-oriented organizational culture, and sustainability strategies on financial performance in the food processing industry. The empirical analysis is based on survey data from 247 firms in Slovenia and employs multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the proposed relationships. The results indicate that sustainability strategies exhibit the strongest positive and statistically significant effect on firm financial performance, followed by sustainability-oriented organizational culture. In contrast, sustainability-oriented vision and business policy show a statistically significant negative direct association, suggesting that formal sustainability commitments alone do not translate into financial benefits without effective strategic integration and organizational support. These findings demonstrate that sustainability does not influence financial performance uniformly, but through distinct organizational mechanisms. The study contributes to the literature by distinguishing between normative, cultural, and strategic dimensions of sustainability and demonstrating their different direct implications for financial performance. It also provides practical insights for managers by highlighting the importance of embedding sustainability into organizational culture and core strategic processes in order to support long-term financial value creation.