A Scale for Measuring Sustainable Manufacturing Practices and Sustainability Performance: Validity and Reliability

Abstract

Purpose: In quantitative studies, providing a valid and reliable instrument is necessary to ensure accurate results when measuring sustainable manufacturing practices (SMPs) and sustainability performance (SP). Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the validity and reliability of the measurements of SMPs and SP. Methodology/Approach: The population of this study is top managers who have experience in the oil and gas industry (O&GI) in Iraq. Two tests were carried out in the present study: the pre-test and the pilot test. Findings: In the pre-test, the comments made by six academician experts and three practitioners were used to rephrase the measurements items and modify them according to the requirements of the O&GI by the Iraqi context. Moreover, in the pilot test was all the items were reliable and were sufficiently correlated with their constructs. Research Limitation/implication: There are some limitations to the current study. First, due to the small size of the study population, the pilot test sample in the current study was only 12 respondents. Future researchers can increase the sample size for the pilot test when they have a large population. Second, the validity and reliability of the measurements were tested in the current study in the oil and gas industry only. Future studies can test these measurements in other industries or small and Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Originality/Value of paper: Theoretically, there are four contributions to the body of knowledge: first, introduce measures for SMPs according to the product life cycle view, it is limited in the literature. Second, these measures can be used by researchers to study the extent of SMPs and the SP of companies using descriptive statistics. Third, these measures can be used to investigate the impact of SMPs on SP by regression testing or structural equation modelling. Fourth, measures can be modified into open-ended questions for use in qualitative or mixed studies. Practically, there are two practical implications which explain in the conclusion.