“Only on Paper”: A Multi-Level Stakeholder Analysis of Barriers to Sustainable Manufacturing in the Egyptian Food Industry

Sustainable manufacturing offers firms the chance to optimize resources, improve market access, enhance long-term competitiveness, and reduce the firm’s environmental impact. However, implementation remains limited, especially in developing countries. This study investigates the barriers to sustainable manufacturing practices (SMP) in the Egyptian food industry and proposes strategies to accelerate adoption. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 27 stakeholders and participants from manufacturing firms, we developed a multi-level framework to link macro-, meso-, and micro-level barriers. The study clarifies how barriers operate in practice and reinforce one another through contextual mechanisms that sustain resistance to SMP implementation. Beyond financial and technical constraints, the critical yet underexplored sources of resistance include institutional distrust, managerial mindsets, and socially embedded norms normalizing regulatory avoidance. This study contributes to research on sustainable manufacturing by stressing the need to consider institutional, behavioral, and socio-cultural conditions alongside corporate constraints to explain the persistent gaps in implementation in developing countries. It also provides a roadmap for coordinated stakeholder action to accelerate the transition toward sustainable manufacturing.