Strategic Management Quality and Sustainable Performance: The Mediating Role of Decision Quality

Organizations are increasingly required to achieve sustainable performance that integrates long-term growth with environmental and social responsibility. Although strategic management quality is widely viewed as essential, the mechanism through which it shapes sustainable outcomes remains unclear. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 468 middle- and senior-level managers from multiple industries in China. Strategic management quality, decision quality, and sustainable performance were measured using validated scales. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Hayes’ PROCESS macro (Model 4) with 5,000 bootstrap samples. Strategic management quality was positively associated with both decision quality and sustainable performance. Decision quality was strongly related to sustainable performance and partially mediated the effect of strategic management quality. The indirect effect was significant. Strategic management enhances sustainability primarily by improving how organizations make decisions. Decision quality serves as a micro-level mechanism translating strategy into durable performance.