Perceptual validation of TPM-H2O for industrial water governance: Evidence from operators, managers and community stakeholders in a brewery case study

Industrial water-efficiency programs are often evaluated through technical indicators, yet their durability also depends on whether operators, managers and surrounding communities perceive the intervention as understandable, controllable and legitimate. This study evaluates the perceptual validation of TPM-H2O, an integrated industrial water-governance model implemented in a brewery case study in Orizaba, Mexico. A pre/post design was applied in 2024 using structured Likert-scale questionnaires administered to operators (n = 30), managers (n = 15) and community stakeholders (n = 20). The analysis focused on item-level mean changes, relative variation and Welch tests. Real water-consumption records from 2022 to 2024 were used only as operational context; the main contribution of this article is the organizational and social validation of the model. Results showed consistent improvements across all stakeholder groups. Global means increased from 2.13 to 3.66 among operators, from 2.17 to 3.76 among managers and from 2.11 to 3.80 among community participants. The strongest improvements were observed in visible operational controls among operators (+1.77), process-level information among managers (+2.33) and communication with the community (+2.20). These results suggest that TPM-H2O can function not only as a technical water-efficiency framework but also as a governance mechanism that transforms indicators into routines, transparency and stakeholder confidence. The study is limited by its single-case design, short post-intervention horizon and self-report nature.