Institutional, Resource-Based, Stakeholder and Legitimacy Drivers of Green Manufacturing Adoption in Industrial Enterprises

The present paper investigates the adoption of green manufacturing approaches among industrial enterprises in Slovakia, emphasizing the interplay between institutional pressures and enterprise-level resources. Based on a survey of 88 enterprises from energy- and material-intensive sectors, the study evaluates how regional context and enterprise size influence the adoption of green practices. Using logistic regression and the chi-squared test, the findings reveal minimal regional variation, suggesting strong isomorphic effects of harmonised European Union environmental regulations. In contrast, enterprise size significantly correlates with the adoption of complex green practices, confirming the relevance of the resource-based view. These results highlight the dominance of internal capabilities over regional factors in green transition pathways within small post-transition economies. The study contributes to cross-national theorising by showing how resource asymmetries, rather than institutional diversity, shape environmental behaviour in uniform regulatory environments. Specifically, the paper examines how institutional pressures, enterprise-level resources, stakeholders, and legitimacy influence the adoption of green manufacturing practices in Slovak industrial enterprises. The study draws on institutional theory, the resource-based view, stakeholder theory, and legitimacy theory to explore the relationship between enterprise size, regional location, and the adoption levels of green manufacturing.