Title: Practice of business sustainability. Evidence from the Malaysian manufacturing sector

Authors: Yusmazida Mohd Yusoff; Muhamad Khalil Omar; Maliza Delima Kamarul Zaman; Yusliza Mohd Yusoff

Addresses: Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Selangor, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia ' Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Selangor, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia ' Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Selangor, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia ' Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

Abstract: The aim of this study is to gain a better understanding of the level of business sustainability practices (economic, social and environmental) of manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises in Malaysia. Quantitative survey technique is used to collect the data. 168 usable responses were received and further analysed using SPSS 23 package software. The results of this study have led to several significant findings. The findings show the existence of business sustainability practices as the majority of statements have high and medium mean scores. However, economic sustainability is the least compared to the other two dimensions of business sustainability (social and environmental). This study has a number of implications for owners and managers as well as policy makers on the importance of sustainability implementation practices to become a responsible organisation. Finally, the limitations and future studies will be discussed. The novelty of this study unfolds the contribution of business sustainability to the achievement of a competitive advantage for future researchers.

Keywords: business sustainability; economic sustainability; social sustainability; environmental sustainability; manufacturing; SMEs.

DOI: 10.1504/MEJM.2021.114011

Middle East Journal of Management, 2021 Vol.8 No.2/3, pp.278 - 295

Received: 27 Jul 2019
Accepted: 07 Jun 2020
Published online: 06 Apr 2021 *

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