Industry 4.0 innovations and their implications: An evaluation from sustainable development perspective

Digital orientation, digital eco‐innovation and circular economy in the context of sustainable development goals

“…Despite the suitability of paradox theory as a theoretical lens and SAP-LAP model of inquiry, this is the first study that examines the relationship between digital orientation, digital eco-innovation and CE practices and their alignment with SDGs. The study complements and extends existing digital technologies and CE studies in different industrial and cultural contexts (Khan et al, 2023;Khan, Ponce, et al, 2021;Ogunmakinde et al, 2022;Schroeder et al, 2019).…”

“…Digital technologies drive changes in the operations of business entities and are a precursor of any digital innovation (Henfridsson et al, 2009; Mishra, Singh, & Rana, 2022). It has produced more automated, reprogrammable and versatile machinery and systems, resulting in various innovations, including eco‐innovations (Khan et al, 2023). With digital technologies, organisations are increasing automation, robotisation and using advanced digital tools in business processes to increase productivity, energy efficiency and resource efficiency and reduce environmental impact and energy consumption.…”

“…First, digital innovation includes several innovations driven by digital technologies, but the outcome of these innovations might not be in digital form. Second, they are based on a wide range of digital technologies and infrastructure, such as additive manufacturing, blockchain, cloud computing, and big data analytics, to come up with innovation (Khan et al, 2023). Third, digital innovations can be adopted and adapted to a specific digital platform (Nowicka, 2019; Wang et al, 2023).…”

“…There are few studies that examine the impact of latest digital technologies and innovation on different sustainability aspects, such as industry 4.0 and CE relationship (Trevisan et al, 2023) and industry 4.0 and SDGs relationship (Dantas et al, 2021; Khan, Ponce, et al, 2021). However, careful evaluation of digital technologies for innovation and its impact on sustainable development is still unknown (Khan et al, 2023) Though the positive relationship between CE and SDGs has been recognised, the exact nature of the relationship between these concepts is not known (Rehman et al, 2023) Additionally, existing studies have not used paradoxical perspectives; thus, these studies have not considered how firms simultaneously deal with conflicting yet interrelated forces that arise during digital eco‐innovation for CE‐linked SDGs. Thus, based on the research gaps identified above, this study aims to advance our understanding of the inherent complexity and paradoxes associated with digital orientation for digital eco‐innovation and their impact on CE‐linked SDGs and propose resolution strategies to address these paradoxes. The paper specifically addresses three different but interlinked faces of digital orientation, digital eco‐innovation, and CE‐linked SDGs practices: How does digital orientation facilitate digital eco‐innovation for CE‐linked SDGs? What paradoxes do firms encounter while using digital eco‐innovation for CE‐linked SDG practices? What possible strategies could be used to overcome the various paradoxes associated with adopting digital eco‐innovation for CE‐linked SDG practices? Drawing from the paradox theory and using the SAP‐LAP (Situation Actor Process–Learning Action Performance) model of inquiry (Sushil, 2000), the study pursues research questions by applying a case study approach.…”

“…There are few studies that examine the impact of latest digital technologies and innovation on different sustainability aspects, such as industry 4.0 and CE relationship (Trevisan et al, 2023) and industry 4.0 and SDGs relationship (Dantas et al, 2021;Khan, Ponce, et al, 2021). However, careful evaluation of digital technologies for innovation and its impact on sustainable development is still unknown (Khan et al, 2023) • Though the positive relationship between CE and SDGs has been recognised, the exact nature of the relationship between these concepts is not known (Rehman et al, 2023) • Additionally, existing studies have not used paradoxical perspectives; thus, these studies have not considered how firms simultaneously deal with conflicting yet interrelated forces that arise during digital eco-innovation for CE-linked SDGs.…”