Econometric Analysis of Productivity Drivers in the Cement Industry: A Technology-Oriented Approach to Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationships of technology orientation, organizational entrepreneurship, strategic management, and their composite index with physical labor productivity in Iranian cement companies. This applied study employed a documentary, correlational, and econometric design. The study population comprised cement-producing companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange and Iran Fara Bourse during fiscal years 2023–2026. A purposive sample was selected based on the simultaneous availability of production figures, workforce information, and documented managerial evidence, resulting in eight firm-period observations. Labor productivity was calculated by dividing annualized cement production by the reported number of employees. Technology orientation, organizational entrepreneurship, and strategic management were scored from zero to four based on documented evidence of implemented or ongoing initiatives disclosed in official corporate reports. Spearman rank correlations and separate ordinary least squares regression models were employed, with reporting-period type included as a control variable. HC3 heteroskedasticity-robust standard errors and the residual-degrees-of-freedom t distribution were used for statistical inference. Spearman correlations between labor productivity and technology orientation, organizational entrepreneurship, strategic management, and the composite index were 0.125, 0.222, −0.218, and 0.235, respectively; none was statistically significant. In the regression models, the estimated standardized coefficients for technology orientation, organizational entrepreneurship, strategic management, and the composite index were 0.002, 0.219, −0.068, and 0.126, respectively. The corresponding p-values were 0.987, 0.355, 0.831, and 0.699. Thus, none of the four research hypotheses was supported at the 0.05 significance level. Sensitivity analyses further indicated that the estimated relationships were dependent on sample composition, reporting-period type, and influential observations. The available evidence was insufficient to establish a definitive relationship between the examined managerial factors and labor productivity. Nevertheless, the findings indicate that a reliable assessment of technology, entrepreneurship, and strategic management effects requires a larger multi-year panel, control of firm-level technical characteristics, and consideration of the time lag between project implementation and productivity outcomes.