The “dark side” of Industry 4.0: How can technology be made more sustainable?

Abstract

PurposeA positive outlook on the impact of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) on sustainability prevails in the literature. However, some studies have highlighted potential areas of concern that have not yet been systematically addressed. The goal of this study is to challenge the assumption of a sustainable Fourth Industrial Revolution by (1) identifying the possible unintended negative impacts of I4.0 technologies on sustainability; (2) highlighting the underlying motivations and potential actions to mitigate such impacts; and (3) developing and evaluating alternative assumptions on the impacts of I4.0 technologies on sustainability.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on a problematization approach, a systematic literature review was conducted to develop potential alternative assumptions about the negative impacts of I4.0 on sustainability. Then, a Delphi study was carried out with 43 experts from academia and practice to evaluate the alternative assumptions. Two rounds of data collection were performed until reaching the convergence or stability of the responses.FindingsThe results highlight various unintended negative effects on environmental and social aspects that challenge the literature. The reasons behind the high/low probability of occurrence, the severity of each impact in the next five years and corrective actions are also identified. Unintended negative environmental effects are less controversial than social effects and are therefore more likely to generate widely accepted theoretical propositions. Finally, the alternative hypothesis ground is partially accepted by the panel, indicating that the problematization process has effectively opened up new perspectives for analysis.Originality/valueThis study is one of the few to systematically problematize the assumptions of the I4.0 and sustainability literature, generating research propositions that reveal several avenues for future research.

Guest editorial: The 6th world conference on production and operations management

“…While new technologies have the potential to revolutionize industries, their development and application are fundamentally reliant on human experience and expertise. Hence, any dialogue concerning the technological revolution should recognize and integrate the diverse range of human backgrounds, abilities and experience, and also potential negative impacts of technological revolution on the society (Dieste et al ., 2023). Day after day technological advancements continue, so there is a growing need for new tasks and skills to be integrated into job roles, leading to increased job complexity, often stemming from the interdependencies of various tasks (Adrianto et al ., 2023).…”

Industry 4.0 and Sustainability Integration in the Supply Chains of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises through People, Process, and Technology within the Triple Bottom Line Perspective

“…Organizations must be aware of aspects related to the negative impacts of the sustainable adoption of I4.0 and take measures to mitigate them throughout their respective supply chains [46]. Recently, the concept of Industry 5.0 (I5.0) emerged and is paired with with Society 5.0, which emphasizes people within the concept of I4.0, moving towards human-centricity, and includes human-in-loop, which is associated with the idea of a superintelligent society [47][48][49][50].…”

“…Recently, the concept of Industry 5.0 (I5.0) emerged and is paired with with Society 5.0, which emphasizes people within the concept of I4.0, moving towards human-centricity, and includes human-in-loop, which is associated with the idea of a superintelligent society [47][48][49][50]. When we also insert the context of sustainability in I5.0, the role of the industry goes beyond its efficiency and improvement in productivity; in practice, it strengthens the role of the industry as a fundamental contributor to the development of society [46]. In MSMEs, organizational leaders play a crucial role in deploying I4.0 in their supply chains by fostering environments that encourage knowledge and information sharing [23,51], this being a key point of Society 5.0 that involves society from the guidance of science, technology, and innovation [52], intrinsically associated with the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations [53].…”