The management of Industry 4.0 technologies and environmental assets for optimal performance of industrial firms in Malaysia

Abstract

The integration of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) has emerged as an innovative paradigm for industrial firms contemplating environmental and economic issues. This study explicates the role of I4.0 technologies (I4.0TEC) in reinforcing the management of environmental assets (ENVASS) as well as optimizing financial performance (FP). The data in this research was collected from 738 industrial firms in Malaysia between 2009 and 2018. The analyses of ordinary least square statistics (OLS) and structural equation modeling (SEM) delineated three major findings. The individual effect of ENVASS, robotization, and flexibility in production technologies has a marginal impact on sales, exports, and labor productivity indicators. The complementarities of these variables represent a similar effect on the performance indicators. The findings related to gross operating margin elucidate that ENVASS and I4.0TEC have neither individual nor complementarity effects. This was explained by developing a robust model by integrating ENVASS, I4.0TEC, spending and investing in R&D, flexibility in production, and human capital management. Our findings have confirmed that the proposed model offers a functional toolkit for the firms considering optimizing their profitability by leveraging ENVASS and I4.0TEC. This research also contributes to developing an ethical business model for the circular economy.

Green Logistics, Green Human Capital, and Circular Economy: The Mediating Role of Sustainable Production

“…This strategy enables businesses to get a competitive advantage by gaining access to limited resources (e.g., green raw materials, locations, productive capacity, capacities) and enhancing the business' green reputation [46,51]. Finally, the sustainable development plan emphasizes minimizing the negative environmental consequences of businesses [52]. These three strategies may give a company a competitive advantage and increase its sustainability performance.…”

“…These three strategies may give a company a competitive advantage and increase its sustainability performance. Due to time and organizational capability, green supply chain strategies may be viewed as unique, diversified, and efficient assets difficult for businesses to mimic [51,52]. Green supply chain approaches, such as the GLM and SP, can give businesses a green competitive advantage.…”

Evaluation of the Success of Industry 4.0 Digitalization Practices for Sustainable Construction Management: Chinese Construction Industry

“…The present study facilitated the detection of considerable direct and indirect impacts, thereby indicating the magnitude and orientation of the associations [50,56]. The assessment of predictive relevance was conducted by examining various model fit indices, including but not limited to goodness-of-fit measures such as chi-square, comparative fit index, Tucker-Lewis index, and root mean square error of approximation [38,54]. The indices have furnished valuable insights into the comprehensive suitability of the SEM model and the efficacy of the success factors in predicting sustainable construction management outcomes.…”