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Industry 4.0 technologies and circular economy: The mediating role of supply chain integration

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  • Eleonora Di Maria
  • Valentina De Marchi
  • Ambra Galeazzo

Abstract

There is a great expectation that Industry 4.0 technologies will enable better circular economy (CE) results at firms. However, it is unclear how these technologies might contribute to CE. We hypothesize that Industry 4.0 technologies are positively related to the level of integration among actors along the supply chain and within the firm supply chain integration (SCI), which, in turn, explains superior CE results. By employing partial least square structural equation models on original survey data based on a sample of more than 1200 Italian manufacturing firms and almost 200 adopters, we find that disentangling for the type of technologies is essential to understanding both their direct and indirect role toward CE. Smart manufacturing technologies have a stronger impact on CE outcomes than data processing technologies; the mediating effect of SCI is verified for the former but not for the latter type, questioning the possibility for those technologies to support sustained CE performance in the long run.

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  • Eleonora Di Maria & Valentina De Marchi & Ambra Galeazzo, 2022. "Industry 4.0 technologies and circular economy: The mediating role of supply chain integration," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 619-632, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:31:y:2022:i:2:p:619-632
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.2940
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    2. Farheen Naz & Rohit Agrawal & Anil Kumar & Angappa Gunasekaran & Abhijit Majumdar & Sunil Luthra, 2022. "Reviewing the applications of artificial intelligence in sustainable supply chains: Exploring research propositions for future directions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2400-2423, July.
    3. Oliveira-Dias, Diéssica de & Maqueira-Marin, Juan Manuel & Moyano-Fuentes, José & Carvalho, Helena, 2023. "Implications of using Industry 4.0 base technologies for lean and agile supply chains and performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    4. Davide Antonioli & Claudia Ghisetti & Massimiliano Mazzanti & Francesco Nicolli, 2022. "Sustainable production: The economic returns of circular economy practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2603-2617, July.
    5. Cheffi, Walid & Kaleem Zahir-ul-Hassan, Muhammad & Omer Farooq, Muhammad & Baqrain, Abdelrahman & Mohamed Habib Mansour, Mourad, 2023. "Ethical leadership, management control systems and circular economy in SMEs in an emerging economy, the UAE," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    6. Gessa, Ana & Jiménez, Amor & Sancha, Pilar, 2023. "Exploring ERP systems adoption in challenging times. Insights of SMEs stories," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    7. Bimpizas-Pinis, Meletios & Calzolari, Tommaso & Genovese, Andrea, 2022. "Exploring the transition towards circular supply chains through the arcs of integration," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    8. Huang, Kerry & Wang, Kedi & Lee, Peter K.C. & Yeung, Andy C.L., 2023. "The impact of industry 4.0 on supply chain capability and supply chain resilience: A dynamic resource-based view," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).

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