20.500.12556/DKUM-99069 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. sustainability governance sustainability management vision business policy organizational culture strategies financial performance food processing industry true false true Angleški jezik Angleški jezik Znanstveno delo 2026-07-29 12:49:29 2026-07-29 12:49:30 2026-07-30 03:09:41 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 str. 1-27 issue 12, spec. iss., [art. no.] 6310 Vol. 18 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2026-06-18 658.15:005.35 286341379 10.3390/su18126310 2071-1050 https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/18/12/6310 1 2de3e835-8b3b-11f1-baad-00155d0001be https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=208732 RAZ_Kelemina_Dejan_2026.pdf RAZ_Kelemina_Dejan_2026.pdf 1 E51F83CEA5B367A3BAFEC57BA7FF9EBF da435a205c0cdb2b89c3651d4543f82ba8c87a643457ed0bc94a54c1ceb80957 655959ff-8b3b-11f1-baad-00155d0001be https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=208733 Ekonomsko-poslovna fakulteta 0 0 0