Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Amin Askari ¹
• Mohsen Jalali Majidi ²
• Hossein Shirazi ³
• Arnoosh Shakeri ⁴

¹ Department of Industrial Management, SR.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

² Department of Industrial Management, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

³ Department of Technology Management, Qom Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qom, Iran

⁴ Department of Management and Economics, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Sustainable manufacturing systems have emerged as a strategic approach in process industries, aiming to reduce environmental impacts, optimize resource utilization, and enhance economic and social performance. Despite their potential benefits, the adoption and implementation of such systems in the petrochemical industry are confronted with multiple challenges that may impede achieving sustainability objectives. Therefore, a systematic and context-specific identification of these challenges is essential. This study aims to identify and contextualize the challenges associated with the adoption and implementation of sustainable manufacturing systems in the Iranian petrochemical industry using a mixed-methods research design. In the qualitative phase, a meta-synthesis approach was employed to extract common challenges reported in previous studies. In the quantitative phase, second-order confirmatory factor analysis was applied to validate and structure the identified challenges within the Iranian petrochemical context. The study population comprised managers, policymakers, industry experts, and academic scholars with relevant expertise in the petrochemical sector, from whom 225 respondents were selected using a convenience sampling method. The results of the meta-synthesis revealed 45 challenges categorized into 12 major dimensions. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that 41 of these challenges are significant and applicable to the Iranian petrochemical industry. Moreover, human resources, financial/economic, and organizational dimensions were identified as the most critical challenge areas, with path coefficients of 0.33, 0.316, and 0.247, respectively. The findings provide valuable insights for improving strategic decision-making, resource allocation, and sustainability-oriented policies, and offer a solid foundation for future research in similar complex and technology-intensive industries.
Introduction
Manufacturing activities are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and intensive natural resource consumption, operating under increasing pressure from stringent environmental regulations, rising consumer expectations, and the need to sustain productivity and competitiveness (Vijay Kumar & Shahin, 2025). Consequently, sustainable manufacturing has emerged as an essential strategic approach that integrates economic, environmental, and social objectives and represents a core pillar of future industrial development (Harikannan & Vinodh, 2025). Through energy-efficient technologies, eco-friendly materials, waste reduction, and circular economy principles, sustainable manufacturing systems can mitigate environmental impacts while enhancing efficiency and competitiveness. This transition is particularly critical in the energy-intensive petrochemical industry, which faces severe environmental risks, investment constraints, technological limitations, and resource imbalances (Shabur et al., 2025). Despite its potential benefits, effective implementation requires a context-specific understanding of challenges, a gap that remains insufficiently addressed in the Iranian petrochemical industry. Addressing this gap, the current study seeks to answer the following research question:
What are the key challenges associated with the adoption and implementation of sustainable manufacturing systems in the Iranian petrochemical industry?
Literature Review
The global literature on sustainable manufacturing systems has grown rapidly, emphasizing emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital twins, blockchain, circular economy practices, and the paradigms of Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 as key enablers of economic, environmental, and social performance. These studies highlight the potential of digitalization and human-centric approaches to enhance productivity, resilience, and sustainability in manufacturing. However, challenges related to technology integration, institutional and policy constraints, ethical issues, and cybersecurity persist. Empirical research using multi-criteria decision-making methods has prioritized barriers linked to technological readiness, human resources, and training. At the national level, studies mainly adopt quantitative approaches and focus on environmental, technological, and financial factors. Despite this progress, systematic and context-specific analyses of sustainable manufacturing challenges in energy-intensive industries, particularly the Iranian petrochemical sector, remain limited. This motivates the present study's integrated meta-synthesis and second-order factor analysis approach.
Methodology
This study has an applied purpose and adopts a mixed-methods design. In the qualitative phase, a meta-synthesis approach following the framework of Sandelowski and Barroso (2007) was employed to systematically identify and organize the barriers to the adoption and implementation of sustainable manufacturing systems. In the quantitative phase, second-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using a formative–reflective measurement model was applied in SmartPLS to screen, validate, and contextualize the identified challenges within Iran’s petrochemical industry. Data were collected from industry experts and academic specialists, and construct reliability and validity were assessed through internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity criteria.
Results
The findings show that effective adoption of sustainable manufacturing systems in Iran’s petrochemical industry relies on systematically identifying and contextualizing key challenges. The qualitative meta-synthesis of 29 studies identified 12 dimensions and 45 challenges across organizational, human, economic, technological, environmental, and institutional domains. Quantitative analysis using second-order formative–reflective CFA confirmed the robustness of the hierarchical model, with acceptable reliability, validity, and no multicollinearity issues. Bootstrapping results indicated that 41 challenges significantly contributed to the higher-order construct of sustainable manufacturing challenges. Among the dimensions, human resources, economic/financial, and organizational challenges had the highest weights, highlighting their dominant role and priority for managerial attention and policy intervention.
Discussion
The findings indicate that the challenges associated with adopting and implementing sustainable manufacturing systems in Iran’s petrochemical industry are multidimensional, systemic, and highly context-dependent. The identification of 12 dimensions and 45 challenges, with 41 empirically validated as significant, underscores the necessity of contextualizing and localizing theoretical frameworks of sustainable manufacturing. Results from the second-order confirmatory factor analysis reveal that these challenges do not reflect a single underlying factor but emerge from the interaction of organizational, human, economic, technological, and institutional dimensions. The prominence of human resource, economic–financial, and organizational dimensions suggests that the transition toward sustainable manufacturing is primarily a managerial, structural, and human-centered challenge rather than a purely technological one.
Conclusion
By proposing a formative–reflective hierarchical model, this study provides a comprehensive framework for analyzing sustainable manufacturing challenges in Iran’s petrochemical industry. The results demonstrate that successful implementation of sustainable manufacturing systems requires a systemic, cross-functional approach grounded in realistic prioritization of key challenges. Emphasis on human capital development, organizational restructuring, and the design of stable financial and supportive policies plays a decisive role in facilitating this transition. The proposed framework offers a robust foundation for managerial decision-making, industrial policy formulation, and future academic research, and it can be adapted to other process-based industries with similar structural and technological characteristics.

Keywords

• Sustainable Development
• Sustainable Manufacturing Systems
• Petrochemical Industry
• Meta-synthesis Approach

Main Subjects

• Industrial management