Beyond Ethical Intentions: Environmental Management, Sustainable Development Goals, and the Quest for Sustainability in Emerging Markets

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) increasingly encounter intricate demands to align their ethical commitments with sustainability performance (SP), especially in emerging economies that feature institutional gaps, such as those in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Drawing on stakeholder theory, this study investigates how ethical practices (EP) and environmental management practices (EMP) influence SP, while examining the adoption of sustainable development goals (SDGs). Using data from 560 MNEs, this study suggests that while EP reflects important moral commitments, they do not necessarily lead to better sustainability outcomes unless translated into concrete environmental actions. SDGs adoption presents both promise and risk. When carefully integrated into governance, SDGs strengthen the impact of EP. When pursued superficially, they can diffuse managerial attention and strain capacity. These findings advance stakeholder theory by emphasizing the need for operational strategies that convert ethical intentions into tangible outcomes, integrating Attention‐Based View (ABV) as a micro‐foundational complement and recognizing MENA's institutional heterogeneity as a critical context shaping our results. The study also advances understanding of how global frameworks like the SDGs interact with firm capabilities in complex environments. Practically, it highlights the importance of balancing global ethical aspirations with local operational realities through focused, context‐sensitive strategies.