Observational analysis shows strategic thinking significantly improves sustainable manufacturing outcomes, indicating its mediating role with reasoning types.
This study investigates the mediating role of managers’ strategic thinking in the relationship between innovative thinking, analytical reasoning, and sustainable manufacturing. A total of 150 managers from manufacturing firms were invited via email to participate in the study, with data collected through structured surveys. The analysis revealed that both analytical reasoning and innovative thinking had significant positive effects on strategic thinking, supporting the proposed relationships. However, neither analytical reasoning nor innovative thinking showed a direct significant effect on sustainable manufacturing, leading to the rejection of their direct influence. In contrast, strategic thinking was found to have a significant and positive impact on sustainable manufacturing, indicating its critical role in driving sustainability outcomes. Further, mediation analysis confirmed that strategic thinking significantly mediated the effects of both analytical reasoning and innovative thinking on sustainable manufacturing. These findings underscore the importance of strategic thinking as a conduit through which cognitive capabilities translate into effective sustainability practices. The study supports the theoretical assertion that reasoning and innovation must be strategically oriented to produce meaningful sustainability outcomes in the manufacturing sector. Overall, the results highlight the necessity of embedding strategic thinking within organizational processes to maximize the impact of analytical and innovative competencies on sustainable development.
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Azim et al. (2025) studied this question.
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