THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DEPLOYMENT OF SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND REGULATORY COMPLIANCE OF PEANUT BUTTER PROCESSING ESTABLISHMENTS IN ZAMBIA

Abstract

Peanut butter processing companies are facing challenges in meeting food safety regulations leading to product recalls by the regulators. There is a claim in literature that sustainability can improve company performance, despite the lack of there being no empirical study to establish whether there is a relationship between deployment of sustainable operations management practices and the level of regulatory compliance for peanut butter processing establishments in Zambia. The research utilized a descriptive correlational research design, where a 5-point rating scale was used to collect quantitative data, in a face-to-face interview from n=12 managers. The collected data was analyzed in IBM SPSS Version 21 to obtain means, standard deviations, and Spearman’s correlation coefficients. The descriptive study showed a ‘low’ to ‘average’ extent of deployment in product and process design, procurement, and quality management. The descriptive study further showed a ‘low’ to ‘average’ level of compliance of the peanut butter for most establishments. The overall results of the correlational study indicate that improving the extent of deployment of sustainable practices can spur improved level of compliance. It is recommended that managers invest in deploying sustainable practices to spur an improved level of compliance in the areas of procurement, quality and product and process design. Further research is needed to establish reasons for not deploying practices and include operations decision areas such as capacity and organizational structures in the research.