Accelerating Progress Toward the Sustainable Development Goals Through Sustainable Industrialization: The Roles of Governance Mechanisms, Sustainable Innovation, and Institutional Pressures

ABSTRACT Africa's pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the realization of the African Union's Agenda 2063 depend on sustainable industrialization; however, governance inefficiencies, limited innovation capacity, and uneven institutional enforcement continue to constrain sustainable production and responsible consumption. Addressing these challenges, this study examines how governance mechanisms influence sustainable supply chain performance (SSCP) in Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), focusing on the mediating role of sustainable innovation and the moderating effects of institutional pressures. Grounded in Strategic Governance Theory, the Resource‐Based View, and Institutional Theory, governance is conceptualized as a strategic capability that enables firms to transform sustainability‐oriented resources into performance outcomes within complex institutional contexts. Using panel data from 480 manufacturing firms across SSA (2010–2023) and applying dynamic panel and instrumental‐variable techniques to address endogeneity, the study finds that board independence, gender diversity, sustainability committees, and sustainability strategy integration significantly enhance SSCP. In contrast, CEO duality and executive compensation are negatively associated with SSCP, while board expertise diversity is not significant, suggesting contextual variation in governance effects. Sustainable innovation mediates the governance–SSCP relationship, and institutional pressures positively moderate it by amplifying the effect of governance on SSCP. Overall, the study extends sustainability governance research by integrating strategic, resource‐based, and institutional perspectives and offers actionable insights for firms and policymakers to strengthen governance, foster sustainability‐oriented innovation, and align institutional frameworks to accelerate progress toward SDG 9, SDG 12, and Agenda 2063.