Strategic assessment of sustainable production in the international automobile sector using efficiency analysis and decision-making models

Abstract

In the context of escalating global environmental concerns, the automotive industry faces pressing imperatives to align its growth with sustainable practices. This urgency, coupled with the need for a holistic evaluation framework, sets the stage for this study. Motivated by the gaps in quantitatively assessing sustainability, the study aims to discern and quantify the sustainability efforts of leading automotive manufacturers. The objective is to establish a robust, quantifiable link between operational efficiency and sustainability criteria that informs both business strategy and environmental stewardship. To achieve this, an innovative methodology combining the Malmquist Data Envelopment Analysis (Malmquist DEA) framework and the Ordinal Priority Approach (OPA) is employed. The approach analyzes efficiency changes, technological progress, and the industry's adoption of sustainable practices over a five-year period, concluding in the pre-pandemic year of 2020. The findings reveal a notable emphasis on productivity and market exposure, identifying them as pivotal to sustainable manufacturing. The OPA provides a weighted analysis of sustainability criteria based on expert evaluations, emphasizing the integration of environmental initiatives with core business strategies. The study's contribution is twofold: it introduces a novel, quantifiable approach to evaluating sustainability in the automotive industry, and it offers strategic insights for companies seeking to elevate their sustainability profile effectively. However, the reliance on pre-pandemic data and expert opinions marks the limitations of the study, indicating the necessity for further research. Future studies should aim to expand the temporal scope to include the latest industry shifts and to diversify the pool of sustainability criteria, capturing a broader spectrum of environmental and social dimensions. This continued research will enhance the industry's understanding of sustainable manufacturing in the evolving global context.