Industry 4.0 and sustainability: Towards conceptualization and theory

Both Industry 4.0 and sustainability have gained momentum in the academic, managerial and policy debate. Despite the relevance of the topics, the relation between Industry 4.0 and sustainability - revealed by many authors - is still unclear; literature is fragmented. This paper seeks to overcome this limit by developing a systematic literature review of 117 peer-reviewed journal articles. After descriptive and content analyses, the work presents a conceptualization and theoretical framework. The paper contributes to both theory and practice by advancing current understanding of Industry 4.0 and sustainability, especially the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on sustainability practices and performance.

Automated summary

The research conducted a systematic literature review of 117 peer-reviewed journal articles to explore the unclear relationship between Industry 4.0 and sustainability, and presented a conceptualization and theoretical framework based on descriptive and content analyses. The paper contributes to advancing the understanding of the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on sustainability practices and performance.