A Model for Assessing Companies' Sustainability Performance in Iraq Based on the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard

The deployment of Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) systems in developing economies confronts institutional voids and structural frictions that depart from the assumptions embedded in developed-market models. This study develops and validates a context-specific SBSC evaluation architecture for the Iraqi cement manufacturing sector by combining Glaserian grounded theory with a hybrid Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) framework comprising Fuzzy Delphi, Fuzzy DEMATEL, and behavioral Fuzzy TODIM. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with fifteen senior executives and sustainability experts from cement producers listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange, four core dimensions were established: concept and objectives of sustainable development (D1), SBSC alignment with organizational sustainability values (D2), sustainability performance data collection and monitoring (D3), and implementation challenges (D4). Fuzzy DEMATEL and TODIM computations reveal that implementation challenges (D4) and strategic objectives (D1) act as primary causal drivers, whereas data monitoring (D3) and scorecard alignment (D2) operate as downstream effects. These results challenge the conventional managerial premise that sustainability measurement failures stem primarily from metrics design or software deficits, indicating instead that institutional readiness, governance quality, and managerial loss aversion govern execution. A phased operational roadmap is offered for corporate decision-makers and regulators in transitional economies.