Factors Affecting Social Sustainability Performance amongst Malaysian Manufacturing Companies

Abstract

Malaysia is among 192 countries that adopted the 2030 agenda for sustainable development to move towards more sustainable, resilient and inclusive growth through strengthening the social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainable development. However, among the three pillars, social sustainability is often disregarded than economic and environmental. Social sustainability is an aspect of sustainability or sustainable development that encompasses human rights, labour rights, and corporate governance. It brings a better environmental and positive influence on the employees working in the industry. This study aims to investigate the relationship between diversity practices, environmental practices, product responsibility and, safety and health practices on social sustainability performance in the manufacturing industry in Malaysia. A total of 384 questionnaires were distributed amongst manufacturers with multinational corporation status based on the purposive sampling method. Eighty-two usable questionnaires had been received and analysed. The findings of this study revealed that only diversity practices and safety and health practices significantly influenced the social sustainability performance. Future research is suggested to verify the significance of these factors as well as other potential factors in different industries for better understanding and knowledge of the social sustainability issues in Malaysia.