IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i3p2111-d1044303.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Striving to Achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Taiwanese SMEs by Adopting Industry 4.0

Author

Listed:
  • Hsing-Chun Hung

    (Ph.D. Program in Management, Da-Yeh University, Changhua City 515006, Taiwan)

  • Yuh-Wen Chen

    (Department of Information Management, Da-Yeh University, Changhua City 515006, Taiwan)

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the potential transformation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Taiwan, China, to meet the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs) by adopting Industry 4.0. Taiwan is performing excellently at the core of Industry 4.0, information technology competence; however, we are curious if the competence required is available and acquainted by SMEs for achieving SDGs. As the consulting staff of the government, we hypothesized that adopting Industry 4.0 would lead to the success of sustainability. The analytical methodology is the model of technology, organization, and environment (TOE). We conducted the questionnaire survey to test if the adoption of Industry 4.0 will guarantee the success of sustainability. A systemic approach is employed to develop and parametrize the final model between adopting Industry 4.0 and sustainability, using structural equation modeling (SEM). Finally, we found a significant gap for Taiwanese SMEs to achieve sustainability via Industry 4.0 because only three hypotheses are supported: organizational resource availability influences Industry 4.0 adoption, investment costs impact sustainability, and external support pushes the adoption of Industry 4.0. We propose some possible solutions for the government to help SMEs reach the achievement of SDGs.

Suggested Citation

  • Hsing-Chun Hung & Yuh-Wen Chen, 2023. "Striving to Achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Taiwanese SMEs by Adopting Industry 4.0," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:2111-:d:1044303
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/3/2111/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/3/2111/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Surana, Kavita & Singh, Anuraag & Sagar, Ambuj D, 2020. "Strengthening science, technology, and innovation-based incubators to help achieve Sustainable Development Goals: Lessons from India," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    2. Dimitris Mourtzis & John Angelopoulos & Nikos Panopoulos, 2022. "A Literature Review of the Challenges and Opportunities of the Transition from Industry 4.0 to Society 5.0," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-29, August.
    3. Fred D. Davis & Richard P. Bagozzi & Paul R. Warshaw, 1989. "User Acceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(8), pages 982-1003, August.
    4. Osterrieder, Philipp & Budde, Lukas & Friedli, Thomas, 2020. "The smart factory as a key construct of industry 4.0: A systematic literature review," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    5. Olumide Emmanuel Oluyisola & Swapnil Bhalla & Fabio Sgarbossa & Jan Ola Strandhagen, 2022. "Designing and developing smart production planning and control systems in the industry 4.0 era: a methodology and case study," Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 311-332, January.
    6. Dalenogare, Lucas Santos & Benitez, Guilherme Brittes & Ayala, Néstor Fabián & Frank, Alejandro Germán, 2018. "The expected contribution of Industry 4.0 technologies for industrial performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 383-394.
    7. Wissal Ben Arfi & Imed Ben Nasr & Tatiana Khvatova & Younes Ben Zaied, 2021. "Understanding acceptance of eHealthcare by IoT natives and IoT immigrants : An integrated model of UTAUT, perceived risk, and financial cost," Post-Print hal-03188218, HAL.
    8. Jaroslav Vrchota & Martin Pech & Ladislav Rolínek & Jiří Bednář, 2020. "Sustainability Outcomes of Green Processes in Relation to Industry 4.0 in Manufacturing: Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-47, July.
    9. Ben Arfi, Wissal & Ben Nasr, Imed & Khvatova, Tatiana & Ben Zaied, Younes, 2021. "Understanding acceptance of eHealthcare by IoT natives and IoT immigrants: An integrated model of UTAUT, perceived risk, and financial cost," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    10. Biggeri, Mario & Clark, David A. & Ferrannini, Andrea & Mauro, Vincenzo, 2019. "Tracking the SDGs in an ‘integrated’ manner: A proposal for a new index to capture synergies and trade-offs between and within goals," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 628-647.
    11. Henry Kaiser, 1974. "An index of factorial simplicity," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 39(1), pages 31-36, March.
    12. Yang Songling & Muhammad Ishtiaq & Muhammad Anwar & Hamid Ahmed, 2018. "The Role of Government Support in Sustainable Competitive Position and Firm Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-17, September.
    13. Alessio Maria Braccini & Emanuele Gabriel Margherita, 2018. "Exploring Organizational Sustainability of Industry 4.0 under the Triple Bottom Line: The Case of a Manufacturing Company," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, December.
    14. Narayanamurthy, Gopalakrishnan & Tortorella, Guilherme, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on employee performance – Moderating role of industry 4.0 base technologies," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    15. Kavita Surana & Anuraag Singh & Ambuj D Sagar, 2020. "Strengthening science, technology, and innovation-based incubators to help achieve Sustainable Development Goals: Lessons from India," Papers 2005.13138, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2020.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Caropul Mendes & Hugo Raposo & Ricardo Ferraz & José Torres Farinha, 2023. "The Economic Management of Physical Assets: The Practical Case of an Urban Passenger Transport Company in Portugal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-19, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Guillermo Fuertes & Jorge Zamorano & Miguel Alfaro & Manuel Vargas & Jorge Sabattin & Claudia Duran & Rodrigo Ternero & Ricardo Rivera, 2022. "Opportunities of the Technological Trends Linked to Industry 4.0 for Achieve Sustainable Manufacturing Objectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-36, September.
    2. Han, Shaojie & Su, Jingqin & Lyu, Yibo & Liu, Qing, 2022. "How do business incubators govern incubation relationships with different new ventures?," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    3. Arfi, Wissal Ben & Nasr, Imed Ben & Kondrateva, Galina & Hikkerova, Lubica, 2021. "The role of trust in intention to use the IoT in eHealth: Application of the modified UTAUT in a consumer context," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    4. Manuel Octavio Del Campo Villares & Vanessa Miguéns-Refojo & Francisco Jesús Ferreiro-Seoane, 2020. "Business Survival and the Influence of Innovation on Entrepreneurs in Business Incubators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-20, July.
    5. Muhammad Ali & Syed Ali Raza & Chin-Hong Puah & Mohd Zaini Abd Karim, 2017. "Islamic home financing in Pakistan: a SEM-based approach using modified TPB model," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(8), pages 1156-1177, November.
    6. Livio Cricelli & Serena Strazzullo, 2021. "The Economic Aspect of Digital Sustainability: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-15, July.
    7. Kouam, Jean & Asongu, Simplice, 2022. "Effects of Taxation on Social Innovation and Implications for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in Developing Countries: A Literature Review," MPRA Paper 114061, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Andrea Chiarini, 2021. "Industry 4.0 technologies in the manufacturing sector: Are we sure they are all relevant for environmental performance?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 3194-3207, November.
    9. Bianco, Débora & Bueno, Adauto & Godinho Filho, Moacir & Latan, Hengky & Miller Devós Ganga, Gilberto & Frank, Alejandro G. & Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose, 2023. "The role of Industry 4.0 in developing resilience for manufacturing companies during COVID-19," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    10. Alam, Syed Shah & Nik Hashim, Nik Hazrul & Rashid, Mamunur & Omar, Nor Asiah & Ahsan, Nilufar & Ismail, Md Daud, 2014. "Small-scale households renewable energy usage intention: Theoretical development and empirical settings," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 255-263.
    11. Takawira Munyaradzi Ndofirepi, 2022. "The Effect of Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy and Entrepreneurial Self-Identity on Entrepreneurial Goal Intentions of Female and Male College Students in Zimbabwe," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, November.
    12. Gupta, Suraksha & Kanungo, Rama Prasad, 2022. "Financial inclusion through digitalisation: Economic viability for the bottom of the pyramid (BOP) segment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 262-276.
    13. Dang, Ngoc Bich & Bertrandias, Laurent, 2023. "Social robots as healing aids: How and why powerlessness influences the intention to adopt social robots," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    14. Wen-Jye Shyr & Wei-Sho Ho & Jie-Ru Chen & Li-Ya Chang & I-Min Chen, 2022. "Effectiveness of Social Participation Courses Applied in the Disaster Prevention for Taiwanese K-12 Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-19, July.
    15. Wasapon Thanabodypath & Achara Chandrachai & Sudkate Chaiyo & Orawon Chailapakul, 2021. "Industrial Buyer Innovation Adoption Model: A Focus on a Smartphone-Based Electrochemical Analytical Device for Toxic Heavy Metal Detection," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-21, October.
    16. Muhammad Hamza & Rai Waqas Azfar & Khwaja Mateen Mazher & Basel Sultan & Ahsen Maqsoom & Shabir Hussain Khahro & Zubair Ahmed Memon, 2023. "Exploring Perceptions of the Adoption of Prefabricated Construction Technology in Pakistan Using the Technology Acceptance Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-25, May.
    17. Fellnhofer, Katharina, 2022. "Entrepreneurial alertness toward responsible research and innovation: Digital technology makes the psychological heart of entrepreneurship pound," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    18. Jean C. Kouam & Simplice A. Asongu & Bin J. Meh & Robert Nantchouang & Fri L. Asanga & Denis Foretia, 2022. "Duration of Support and Financial Health of Business Support Structures in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Ghana: A Micro-Econometric Analysis," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 22/048, African Governance and Development Institute..
    19. Night, Sadress & Bananuka, Juma, 2020. "The mediating role of adoption of an electronic tax system in the relationship between attitude towards electronic tax system and tax compliance," Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science, Universidad ESAN, vol. 25(49), pages 73-88.
    20. Alsajjan, Bander & Dennis, Charles, 2010. "Internet banking acceptance model: Cross-market examination," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(9-10), pages 957-963, September.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:2111-:d:1044303. 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.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.