Industry 4.0 as an enabler of sustainability diffusion in supply chain: an analysis of influential strength of drivers in an emerging economy

Abstract

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and sustainability are recent buzzwords in manufacturing environments. However, the connection between these two concepts is less explored in the literature. In the current business context, the future generation of manufacturing systems is greatly influenced by the rapid advancement of information technology. Therefore, this study aims to examine the drivers of I4.0 to diffuse sustainability in Supply Chains (SCs). This research identifies the most relevant drivers through the literature and discusses them with area experts. Afterwards, an empirical analysis is conducted to validate the key drivers. Finally, the Grey based DEMATEL method is employed to examine the influential strength of the identified drivers and to build an interrelationship diagram. ‘Government supportive policies’ and ‘Collaboration and transparency among supply chain members’ were reported as highly significant drivers of I4.0. This study is an initial effort that investigates the key drivers of I4.0 to achieve high triple bottom line (ecological-economic-social) gains in SCs by taking an example from an emerging economy, i.e. India. This study may help managers, practitioners and policy makers interested in I4.0 applications to diffuse sustainability in SCs.