The contribution of manufacturing industries to the achievement of triple bottom line dimensions on sustainable development: An empirical analysis

In 2015, the United Nations introduced the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in partnership with civil society and firms, highlighting that leading firms possess the capabilities to innovate substantial solutions at scale to achieve global sustainability. Therefore, the objective of present study is to explore the sustainable development in the context of the Indian manufacturing industry and examine the effect of triple bottom line, i.e. economic, social, and environmental dimensions on the sustainable development. Based on the literature review and expert’s opinions, hypotheses related to sustainable development and triple bottom line dimensions were developed. A survey instrument was prepared and sent to the 500 Indian manufacturing industries. Out of these 384 responses were found suitable for the study with a 76.8% response rate. All the necessary statistical analysis was carried out to ensure the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. Analysis of Moment Structure Path Modeling technique-Structural Eq. Modeling has been used for testing the research hypothesis. Further, the measurement model had shown sufficient data fit for the modeling. The results of study indicate that all significance values were found to be less than 0.05. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected, implying that the effectiveness of triple bottom line dimensions positively influences sustainable development. The findings of the study may be useful for academicians and managers in managing the sustainable manufacturing industry in an effective manner.