IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v35y2026i2p1970-1996.html

Strategic Integration of Digital Technologies in Sustainable Business Models: A Cross‐Industry Comparative Study

Author

Listed:
  • Bogdan Nichifor
  • Ovidiu Turcu
  • Luminita Zait
  • Laura Timiras
  • Diana Prihoanca

Abstract

This study explores how digital technologies support strategic sustainability transitions across the following five industries: smart cities, fashion, food retail, construction, and consumer goods. Building on the dynamic capabilities theory and sustainable business model innovation (SBMI), we develop a cross‐sector evaluation framework that assesses five key technologies—AI, IoT, big data, blockchain, and 3D printing—along the following four dimensions: efficiency, circularity, scalability, and transformative potential. Through a qualitative comparative case study grounded in secondary data and digital observations, we reveal distinct adoption patterns, strategic functions, and barriers to implementation. The results show that while AI and big data drive short‐term optimization, blockchain and 3D printing enable deeper business model transformation. This study contributes by integrating a digital strategy with sustainability frameworks and offering a decision‐support matrix for managers to align technology investments with environmental goals. Our findings highlight the importance of sequencing technologies, ecosystem collaboration, and organizational capabilities for scalable digital sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Bogdan Nichifor & Ovidiu Turcu & Luminita Zait & Laura Timiras & Diana Prihoanca, 2026. "Strategic Integration of Digital Technologies in Sustainable Business Models: A Cross‐Industry Comparative Study," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 1970-1996, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:35:y:2026:i:2:p:1970-1996
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.70244
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70244
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.70244?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:35:y:2026:i:2:p:1970-1996. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.