Sustainable synergies: harmonising financial performance and food safety management for sustainability

To evaluate how multi-level enablers strengthen food-safety-management systems (FSMS) and, in turn, enhance sustainable financial performance (SFP) in export-oriented Asian food supply chains. Survey data from 324 food-processing firms in China and Vietnam were analysed with structural-equation modelling. The model combined organizational, supply-chain, and broad-context enablers with three FSMS dimensions (ecosystem, quality standards and robustness). Supply-chain integration exerts the strongest direct effect on SFP, while internal enablers alone are insufficient. FSMS explains 37% of the total enabler–SFP link and significantly moderates the infrastructure → SFP pathway: when ecosystem practices are strong, infrastructural investment translates into higher SFP; when they are weak, returns taper off. External assistance amplifies these benefits only where food-safety administration support is present. This is the first empirical study to demonstrate that combining enablers across three contextual layers yields superior financial gains via FSMS, thereby extending Enablers Theory to a dynamic emerging-economy setting. Managers should prioritize cross-firm integration and cultivate partnerships with regulators and NGOs to unlock FSMS-driven financial returns. Policy makers can accelerate sector-wide SFP by incentivizing collective FSMS initiatives and reinforcing food-safety administration services.