Sustainable manufacturing is evolving as organizations adopt strategies to reduce waste, enhance efficiency, and align competitiveness with environmental and social responsibility (Karuppiah et al., 2024)(Scharmer et al., 2024). The concept of sustainable manufacturing encompasses the integration of environmental management, social responsibility, and operational excellence into production processes to achieve long-term viability (Scharmer et al., 2024). However, despite theoretical advances, the empirical evidence on which drivers are crucial in the process of implementing sustainable manufacturing, especially in transitional economies, remains limited. Companies are increasingly under pressure to align competitiveness with responsibility toward the environment, employees, and society. Beyond technological investments and environmental initiatives, sustainable manufacturing increasingly depends on human and cognitive factors embedded within organizational systems. Employee competencies, sustainability awareness, continuous learning, and knowledge sharing practices shape the extent to which sustainability principles are adopted and operationalized in production environments. From this perspective, manufacturing transformation is not solely a technical process but also a cognitive and educational one, requiring the development of workforce capabilities aligned with sustainable and digital industrial paradigms. In transition economies, the pressure rises, as traditional industrial models must adapt to the requirements of sustainability and digital transformation (Karuppiah et al., 2024). Manufacturing organizations are, therefore, expected to integrate sustainability principles not only to meet regulatory demands but also to improve resilience, innovation capacity, and market reputation (Scharmer et al., 2024). Identifying drivers of sustainable manufacturing provides both theoretical and practical insights into how manufacturing organizations can align economic efficiency with environmental and social objectives (Karuppiah et al., 2024). Thus, this research aims to identify and analyze the key drivers that influence the implementation of sustainable manufacturing practices in production-oriented organizations, with a specific focus on the Republic of Serbia. Based on a comprehensive literature review, a list of factors that stimulate the adoption of sustainable practices in industrial systems has been developed. The research provides insights into the current state of sustainable manufacturing implementation within the Serbian manufacturing sector. Drivers influence the degree to which sustainable manufacturing practices are adopted, which in turn affects performance. Higher levels of drivers are expected to lead to stronger implementation and thus better outcomes across performance dimensions. The model allows for cross-domain effects, anticipating positive relationships across driver-performance pairs. While many explore drivers of sustainable practices in developed economies, fewer empirical investigations focus on transition economies or on multiple driver types simultaneously. This research examines social, economic, environmental, and quality drivers simultaneously in relation to multiple dimensions of organizational performance (social, economic, environmental, process, innovation, and stakeholder). This research addresses the gap by surveying manufacturing organizations in Serbia, encompassing operational, managerial, and supportive roles. This approach provides novel empirical evidence from a transitional economy. Thus, this research contributes by: (a) empirically validating a framework of sustainable manufacturing adoption; (b) testing the relative influence of distinct drivers on multiple performance outcomes; and (c) providing evidence from a country with limited prior research in this domain. Considering the research subject, objectives, and existing literature, the following research question has been formulated: “How do social, economic, environmental, and quality (technological) drivers influence sustainable manufacturing performance, from a cognitive-organizational perspective?”

To investigate the impact of various factors on sustainable manufacturing performance in production-oriented organizations in Serbia, this study employed a quantitative, cross-sectional research design. This method was considered suitable for evaluating multiple relationships simultaneously and identifying trends across a wide range of industrial settings.

2.1 Data collection

To ensure widespread participation, a structured questionnaire was disseminated both electronically and in print to gather data. Employees from manufacturing companies across various industrial sectors, including food production, machinery, metal processing, and automotive components, provided a total of 153 valid responses. Because the respondents held a variety of professional roles, from managerial and administrative to technical and operational, the sample was representative of those directly involved in or supporting production processes. The survey was anonymous and voluntary to complete. Prior to their involvement, all participants were informed about the purpose of the study and the confidentiality of their responses, and they provided their informed consent. The study was conducted in accordance with ethical standards governing research involving human participants. In line with institutional and national guidelines, formal ethical approval was not required because the research did not involve interventions, experimental procedures, or the collection of sensitive personal data.

2.2 Sample characteristics

The final sample consisted of 153 respondents employed in manufacturing and production-related organizations in the Republic of Serbia. With respect to gender, 139 respondents were male (90.8%) and 14 were female (9.2%), reflecting the gender structure commonly observed in manufacturing and industrial sectors. The demographic characteristics of the respondents are summarised in Table 1. The sample is predominantly male (90.8%), with most respondents holding a university degree (75.8%). The average age of respondents was 41.19 years (SD = 8.74), ranging from 20 to 66 years. Regarding educational attainment, the majority of respondents held higher education degrees. More than three quarters of the participants had completed university-level education, while a smaller proportion possessed doctoral qualifications. The remaining respondents had completed secondary or college-level education. Participants were employed across a wide range of manufacturing sectors, including food and beverage production, metal processing, automotive industry, energy and gas, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, as well as other manufacturing activities. In terms of organizational roles, the respondents represented various hierarchical levels, including top and middle management (e.g., directors, owners, and department managers), engineers and technical specialists (e.g., production, quality, and process engineers), and operational and technical staff. This diversity enhances the relevance and credibility of the collected data for analyzing sustainable manufacturing practices.

The study's findings offer new empirical insights into how social, economic, environmental, and quality drivers impact long-term organizational performance in Serbia's manufacturing industry. The results indicate that social drivers have a moderate but positive influence, while quality drivers exhibit mixed effects. In contrast, economic and environmental drivers have the most substantial impact on performance outcomes, aligning with global research trends. The significant influence of economic drivers underscores the ongoing importance of cost optimization, efficiency, and innovation in fostering sustainable manufacturing. Technologies such as automation, artificial intelligence, and predictive maintenance can increase productivity while reducing waste production and operating expenses (Polese et al., 2021)(Mahfoud et al., 2024)(Agrawal et al., 2023). In addition to increasing production efficiency, these technological advancements make organizational systems more robust and flexible. Additionally, one of the main factors facilitating sustainable industrial transformation is technological and economic preparedness (Narkhede et al., 2025; Renna & Materi, 2021). Environmental factors are also important, as evidenced by the increased consciousness of ecological responsibility in contemporary manufacturing. The importance of environmental considerations in this study aligns with earlier research that emphasizes energy efficiency, the circular economy, and green innovation as crucial components of sustainable operations (Rosen & Kishawy, 2012; Panagiotopoulou et al., 2022; Shaikh et al., 2024). This research indicates that manufacturing companies in transition economies, such as Serbia, are starting to recognize environmental performance as both a source of competitive advantage and a compliance requirement. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that combining environmental management systems with green product design improves an organization’s long-term resilience and reputation (Bravo et al., 2022)(Ghazali et al., 2023). Employee engagement, safety, and corporate social responsibility are valued, but they are still evolving as strategic pillars in the region's manufacturing culture, influenced by moderate social drivers. From a cognitive-organizational perspective, the findings suggest that sustainability performance is not driven exclusively by technological readiness or financial investment, but also by the extent to which employees internalize sustainability principles. Workforce training, participatory decision-making, and organizational learning mechanisms contribute to the translation of sustainability strategies into operational practices. This reinforces the view that sustainable manufacturing transformation requires alignment between technological systems and human cognitive capacities (Norton et al., 2015). This partially supports earlier research, which shows that when social initiatives - such as training, well-being, and stakeholder involvement - are fully incorporated into management practices, they improve performance focused on sustainability (Madero-Gómez et al., 2023; Baykal & Divrik, 2023; Lee, 2018). The statistically minor impact, compared to economic and environmental drivers, however, may be the result of organizational priorities that prioritize operational and financial stability over more extensive social change, in the context of developing or transition economies such as Serbia. Challenges such as limited financial resources, regulatory gaps, and lower awareness present significant barriers to adoption. For example, studies on the long-term growth of the Serbian manufacturing sector highlight the need for innovative industrial policy, structural limitations, and a lack of specialization in high-value goods (Mićić & Savić, 2018). Additionally, sustainability advancement has been linked to Serbia's readiness for digital transformation, indicating that technological capabilities may serve as a facilitator of sustainable practices in manufacturing organizations (Rakic et al., 2021). Understanding what drives businesses to adopt sustainable manufacturing practices is crucial in light of these opportunities and challenges. The findings collectively demonstrate that a balanced set of drivers is necessary for sustainable performance in manufacturing organizations. While social and quality dimensions enhance organizational adaptability and long-term resilience, economic and environmental factors offer the structural underpinnings for sustainable transformation. Understanding these driver mechanisms is particularly crucial for guiding managerial strategy and industrial policy in transition economies like Serbia, where businesses frequently face financial constraints, technological gaps, and evolving regulatory environments. Adopting green technologies or efficiency improvements alone will not be enough to achieve sustainability in manufacturing; human-centric innovation, environmental responsibility, and economic rationality must all be integrated systemically. Sustainable manufacturing can be accelerated by implementing circular economy practices, and enhancing digital transformation readiness, according to emerging research (Lim et al., 2023)(Dacre, 2024). This is especially true in developing nations where workforce engagement and resource optimization continue to be significant obstacles. To achieve synergistic effects on sustainability outcomes, recent studies emphasize the importance of multi-level driver frameworks that integrate social participation, technological capability, and quality management (Scharmer et al., 2024)(Hariyani et al., 2023)(Abubakr et al., 2020)(Gholami et al., 2021). Future studies should, therefore, examine how organizational culture, digital technologies, and policy tools interact to strengthen these forces and bridge current implementation gaps. This kind of data can help the transition economies develop targeted programmes that enhance competitiveness, foster innovation, and ensure alignment with international sustainability goals. Although the sample included respondents from diverse manufacturing sectors, future studies could further examine sector-specific differences in sustainability drivers and performance relationships.

This research examined how quality, social, economic, and environmental drivers influence long-term organizational performance in Serbian manufacturing firms. The findings underscore the importance of creativity, effectiveness, and ecological responsibility in promoting sustainability, demonstrating that both economic and environmental factors have a significant positive impact. By emphasizing the growing importance of employee engagement, safety, and well-being in creating resilient organizations, social drivers also play a significant role. Quality drivers, on the other hand, exhibit conflicting results, indicating that their role in sustainability is still developing in this regard. Overall, the results highlight the need for a well-rounded strategy that balances economic and environmental priorities with more robust social and quality-oriented practices. In addition to investing in people, organizational culture, and systems for continuous improvement, managers should concentrate on increasing technological innovation and resource efficiency. Despite offering insightful empirical data from a transition economy, this study remains limited to a single country and sector. Future studies should investigate the interactions between these drivers over time and across different geographical and industrial contexts. A deeper understanding of the dynamic mechanisms underlying sustainability in global manufacturing systems may be possible through comparative, longitudinal, and multi-level analyses.

We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who has contributed to this research, including those who have made contributions in aspects such as data collection and manuscript review.

This research has been supported by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation (Contract No. 451-03-137/2025-03/200156) and the Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad through project “Scientific and Artistic Research Work of Researchers in Teaching and Associate Positions at the Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad 2025” (No. 01-50/295).

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

All ethical considerations were observed, including the confidentiality of personal information, voluntary participation, and data protection in accordance with applicable legal and institutional guidelines.

Conceptualization, S.Vasić; methodology, S.Vasić; software, S.Vasić. and K.R.; validation, S.Vasić and N.B.; formal analysis, S.Vasić; investigation, S.Vasić and N.B.; resources, S.Vulanović and N.B.; data curation, S.Vasić., K.R., D.V. and N.B.; writing-original draft preparation, S.Vasić; writing-review and editing, S.Vasić.; visualization, S.Vulanović; supervision, N.B.; project administration, S.Vasić and K.R.; funding acquisition, S.Vasić, K.R., N.B., and D.V.;

All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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