System of Non-Financial Performance Indicators in the Manufacturing Sector

The growing demand for transparency in sustainability reporting has compelled enterprises to look far beyond the boundaries of classical financial ratios when assessing their own performance. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) indicators have dominated recent academic debate—primarily because of mounting regulatory and societal pressure. By contrast, the significance of other non-financial performance indicators (NFPIs), such as operational efficiency, quality management, and employee turnover, has been insufficiently explored, despite their importance for long-term competitiveness. Existing research is fragmented and provides limited integrative insights, which creates a clear gap regarding how ESG and non-ESG indicators collectively influence organisational performance. To address this gap, this study synthesises the NFPI landscape through (1) a combined bibliometric and systematic literature review, (2) detailed manual content analysis used to construct a theoretical framework integrating ESG and non-ESG indicators, and (3) expert validation to recommend a concise set of NFPIs for the manufacturing sector. Findings indicate that experts prioritise sustainability-related indicators, even when presented with a broader NFPI framework. This highlights a practical misalignment between theoretical expectations and industry focus. The study contributes a validated NFPI set and an integrative framework that aids more informed managerial decisions.