Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are key drivers of economic growth and development. Innovation through digital transformation has the capacity to enable sustainability, competitiveness and customisation in products and services. However, adoption of digital technologies by SMEs to underpin sustainability outcomes is poorly understood. A systematic literature review identified an initial dataset of 1300 articles, which after screening and application of exclusion criteria resulted in a dataset of 64 articles for synthesis. Analysis was carried out according to three main areas, namely the technology aspects of digital transformation, sustainable development according to the triple bottom line (i.e. economic, environmental and social aspects), and the business characteristics of SMEs. In the latter case, business strategy and management, organizational structure, organizational culture, skills and qualifications, and leadership factors are identified from the literature. Furthermore, literature expressing the triple bottom line dimensions and the type of Industry 4.0 technology areas adopted are synthesized. Correlation of the data through bibliographic analysis is provided on the type of technology enabling SMEs towards a pathway for sustainable development as well as synthesis of future research directions arising from the study.
Las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMEs) son motores clave del crecimiento y desarrollo económico. La innovación a través de la transformación digital tiene la capacidad de permitir la sostenibilidad, la competitividad y la personalización de los productos y servicios. Sin embargo, la adopción de tecnologías digitales por parte de las PYMES para apuntalar los resultados de sostenibilidad es poco conocida. Una revisión bibliográfica sistemática identificó un conjunto de datos inicial de 1.300 artículos, que tras el cribado y la aplicación de criterios de exclusión dio como resultado un conjunto de 64 artículos para sintetizar. El análisis se llevó a cabo en tres áreas principales, a saber, los aspectos tecnológicos de la transformación digital, el desarrollo sostenible según la triple cuenta de resultados (es decir, los aspectos económicos, medioambientales y sociales) y las características empresariales de las PYMEs. En este último caso, se identifican a partir de la literatura la estrategia y la gestión empresarial, la estructura organizativa, la cultura organizativa, las competencias y las cualificaciones, y los factores de liderazgo. Además, se sintetiza la literatura que expresa las dimensiones de la triple cuenta de resultados y el tipo de áreas tecnológicas de la Industria 4.0 adoptadas. Se ofrece una correlación de los datos a través del análisis bibliográfico sobre el tipo de tecnología que permite a las PYMEs avanzar hacia una vía de desarrollo sostenible, así como una síntesis de las futuras direcciones de investigación que surgen del estudio.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are acknowledged as key drivers of economic growth and development, thereby creating employment opportunities and stimulating competition through innovation and new venture creation
Sustainability is defined as
The article is structured in the following manner. After the introduction, the conceptual framework is provided along with review of the literature to highlight the present gap in the knowledge base and the reason for our study. This is followed description of the systematic literature review (SLR) approach adopted in the study as the research methodology. The results section provides extraction and analysis from 64 documents synthesised through the SLR method followed by discussion of the key findings and the future research agenda.
The volume of literature provides conceptual evidence through defining Industry 4.0 and its role in logistics and the need for impact analysis on Industry 4.0 interventions in different facets of business
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are regarded as
Digital transformation can be viewed as
Sustainable development is
Source: Authors’ own
We reviewed existing SLRs in the literature in related areas to assess the research space and assimilate existing knowledge. The SLR documented by
The barriers that hinder digital adoption by SMEs are discussed at length by
Other studies have focused on the intersection of Industry 4.0 and the triple bottom line (TBL) of sustainability (
The investigation relies on the rigor of the SLR approach with the intent to acquire a reliable knowledge base, address management and research issues, and highlight the research gaps (
Source: Authors’ own
The keywords are implicit to three underpinning concepts, namely: SME, sustainability and terms representing digitalization (or digital transformation). The latter is expanded into “Industry 4.0”, “Fourth Industrial Revolution”, “Digitalization”, “Digital Transformation”, “Automation” and “Smart manufacturing” as used by
The Scopus search (see
Source: Authors’ own
No. | Data capture from Scopus | Screening and exclusions applied | Total number of documents |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Original literature data | None | 1,300 |
2 | Data reduction | Journal articles in English; 2010-21 | 514 |
3 | Data reduction | Journal articles in English; 2016-20 | 333 |
4 | Abstract screening | Manual reading of abstracts based on relevance | 90 |
5 | Eligibility | Full text retravel and analysis | 64 |
The output of 333 documents were abstract screened to reflect the intent of our research objective (i.e. how can digital transformation enable SMEs to achieve sustainable development?) without any bias to generate a total of 90 documents. The final synthesis followed scrutiny of the full text of 90 articles to establish 64 documents, which constitutes the subject matter of our investigation. Analysis on the technology, method of research, sustainability and themes under SMEs were performed.
The SLR approach is supplemented by bibliometric analysis
The profile in
The research contribution from various countries is presented in
Literature comprises of articles from journals such as
The method of research (see
The focus of the SLR considers three primary areas, namely the technology aspects of digital transformation, sustainable development, and the business characteristics of SMEs. Attempts were made to focus the SLR synthesis and identify content or articles that best describe the defined areas and supporting theoretical concepts. An in-depth content analysis according to the technology aspects of digital transformation, sustainable development and the business characteristics of SMEs is detailed below. The extraction resulted in tabulation of themes and content falling under the corresponding areas and theoretical constructs.
The inspection of technology intervention under the paradigm of Industry 4.0 within the domains of our synthesis representing 64 documents and is presented in
Digital transformation initiatives in a firm starts with a positive culture of adoption with a clear view of the processes in the firm. SMEs need to sense and seize digitally enabled growth opportunities and adopt project-based learning processes to transform the organization to remain competitive in turbulent environments
The Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) refers to systems where embedded sensors are integrated with physical objects along with the software and integration capabilities to support real-time monitoring and data exchange across distributed networks.
The power of IoT to render IoT-as-a-service (IoTaaS) helps to realize smart value creation leading to business sustainability and is illustrated through textile SMEs in Taiwan
As a development of the Smart SMEs 4.0 Framework
Analysis of IIoT implementation drivers, strategies, capabilities, HCI (human computer interface) and the derived benefits are extracted from 30 articles over the last 7 years and are documented in the literature
The role of blockchain smart contracting in facilitating the implementation of collaborative logistics structures and the means of integration of SMEs into sustainable maritime supply chains by reducing high entry barriers and weakening the domination of big players are recorded in the work of
The word ‘smart’ refers to self-monitoring, analysis, and reporting technology where the technology that uses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data analysis provide cognitive awareness to appropriate objects and actors in the system. Studies on the adaptation possibilities of automation/robotics in SMEs are documented by
A practical case study for SMEs to adopt a sustainable, intelligent smart manufacturing system based on robotic systems with sensors is illustrated by
Cloud computing enables users to store and access data and programs over the internet instead of on a local storage unit such as a hard drive. The need for adopting appropriate digital technologies for the identified functional areas in the context of Indian manufacturing SMEs has been researched by
A cyber-physical system (CPS) or intelligent system is a computer system in which a mechanism is controlled or monitored by computer-based algorithms. Incorporation of value creation mechanisms, value offer and value capture mechanisms are defined in the investigation of
Big data deals with the ways and means to treat, analyse and extract data that is voluminous, characterised by greater variety and arriving with velocity. The mediating role of ‘big data analytics’ (BDA) played between ‘project performance’ and nine factors, including top management, project knowledge management focus on sustainability, green purchasing, environmental technologies, social responsibility, project operational capabilities, project complexity, collaboration and explorative learning, and project success, has been explored by
A unified model for the adoption of BDA among SMEs with the integration of the technology–organization–environment (TOE) model and resource-based view has been recorded in the literature
The direct effect of BDA capabilities, as well as the interaction term between BDA infrastructure and BDA capabilities are observed to be positive and significant from the literature
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a computer or a robot controlled by a computer to complete tasks that are usually done by humans.
3D printing involves layering materials, like plastics, composites or bio-materials to create objects that range in shape, size, rigidity and colour. In related work,
The impact created by manufacturing firms on the environment has provided a new impetus and hence stringent regulations to decrease or possibly mitigate the hazards generated from industrial process and other business activities. This calls for circular economy practices under the premise of Industry 4.0 technologies adoption to meet both the market driven and environmental challenges. The other concerns for sustainable industrial development are job equity, job losses, gender equity, employee well-being with regulations in place to assure growth and quality of life for personnel. The contents under the sustainability dimension are elaborated in regard to the economic, social and environment dimensions that impact SMEs as well as more broadly sustainability as a generalized term (see
The sustainability of small businesses depends on innovativeness as well as other factors. Innovation in the form of technology adoption, new product launch and securing new opportunities in the form of services offered leads to business sustainability and economic growth. In this regard, the positive relationship between technology innovation and firm performance in Kenya has been reported by
A business strategy needs to incorporate all the three dimensions of sustainability, with a view to achieve the triple bottom line (TBL) of sustainable development. The application of Carroll’s pyramid model for SMEs as an effective business strategy for overall organizational performance improvement in the context of developing nations and in the stage of infancy towards Industry 4.0 adoption has been documented in the literature
Technology aids in creating new business models and services. The pathways to realise success through integrated manufacturing, logistics and marketing adopted by textile SMEs and the content with strategies of value-creation activities are documented by
Deployment of an industry-specific web portal as an IT resource and its impact on e-business organizational performance has been discussed in the literature
Various parameters, such as material, energy, labour, and equipment and fixtures, have effect on the overall sustainability of a manufacturing firm. Assessment of sustainability factors for a United States based SME in the transition from shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) process to a robotic gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process are case studied in the literature
Just like other companies, SMEs also contribute substantially to environmental issues as they add to the emissions of greenhouse gases and hence remedial actions on their activities are required. The current scenario demands the formulation of an eco-friendly business strategy and initiatives to go green through adopting the smart factory concept. The need for firms to not just concentrate on cost calculation and quantitative benefit analysis but also on CSR activities through creating a green corporate image by adding an environmental dimension has been coupled with the smart factory concept
The process of sustainability assessment is set to indicate the vulnerable points of the firm and the best possible solution to achieve sustainable performance. The use of tools to estimate the impact of product or process on the environment are discussed in the literature
Cost effective, simple, efficient, automated, comprehensive and simplified systems for sustainability assessment are designed by
The role of high-performance people management practices in realising productivity of the firm through innovation is presented in the literature by
In an era marked by the dominance of technology, SMEs are faced with the challenges of adopting technology in an efficient and effective manner within the firm, and especially as automation can result in a likely reduction and replacement of blue-collar workers. Job decreases in the manufacturing sector associated with the automation of monotonous tasks are a consequence of technology adoption. Consequently, recommendations from the research of
Social life cycle assessment (SLCA) assesses the social and socioeconomic aspects of producing products and their positive and negative impacts; in the case of transforming through adoption of robotics,
The social component of sustainability is nurtured amongst networking SMEs and other stakeholders involved (such as academic institutions, competitors and consumers) through transition from a ‘business-as-usual’ strategy to a long-term strategy for digitalized management of common resources. Indeed,
Sustainability in an organization is marked by the ability of the firm to estimate the internal and external environment and swiftly respond to market fluctuations. The need to address and respond to these changes are governed by the aptitude within the firm instilled through good leadership and best management practices. The organization structure, in line with the framed strategy and resource base enable delivery of value outcomes to the customer. The content analysis of 64 documents evolved five SME related themes namely, business strategy and management; organizational structure; organizational culture; skills and qualifications; and leadership intrinsic to the firm (see
The need to develop innovative strategies to achieve firm performance are the recommendations from the research work of
To appreciate the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies as key enablers, SMEs need to devise innovative strategies for technology adoption policy. Innovation strategies for SMEs exert a positive and significant effect on Industry 4.0 digital enablers, which are the findings from the work of
Despite the challenges faced by technology adoption, Industry 4.0 technologies aid SMEs in sustainable performance. This notion is tested through studies from Thailand
SMEs with the attitude and capabilities to adapt to the environmental changes need to be engaged in the business culture. Indeed,
In other work, a survey conducted with 270 SMEs and large firms from Hungary aims to understand firms’ perception on the relationship between change management, digitalization, business performance and green development
Human resource management, qualifications and skills are vital for SME innovation, productivity and growth. Indeed, impact analysis of digital literacy, economic literacy, and entrepreneurial skills on the performance of SMEs in garment clusters in the tourism industry are documented by
The performance, especially the financial outcomes, of SMEs utilizing digital platforms indirectly through network capabilities is addressed in the literature by
The role of leadership and the factors affecting digital transformation in Omani SMEs using the technological, organizational, and environmental (TOE) model are reported by
Frameworks like the customer-product-process-resource (CPPR 4.0) model have been conceived in the extant literature
A primary focus of this research study is to understand the role played by digital transformation in enabling SMEs to achieve sustainable development. From the SLR, synthesis of the 64 documents focused on the core concepts of SMEs, digital transformation and sustainable development. Since we have considered sustainability according to the TBL of economic, environmental and social dimensions, it is useful to identify the breakdown of the 64 documents in regard to which aspect of the TBL they are focused on and furthermore to identify cases where more than one aspect is covered. In this regard, we identified 10 articles that had content related to more than one aspect of the TBL. This includes 6 articles that have content on the economic, environmental and social dimensions; 3 articles that have content on the economic and social dimensions; and 1 article on the economic and environmental dimensions. The breakdown of technologies adopted in the 10 articles that have content on more than one aspect of the TBL is depicted in
The six articles that have content across all three TBL dimensions of economic, environmental and social aspects identify that strategy, innovative integration, sustainability assessment, cost effective tools for sustainability assessment and government support are key areas that aid in realizing overall sustainability. People management practices, skills, digital resources, human resources, digital transformation strategy (DTS) and business networking are the key drivers towards economic and social sustainability (from the 3 articles with content on the economic and social dimensions). Whereas skills, organizational culture (data driven), green purchasing, environmental technologies are the factors favoring economic and environmental sustainability (from the 1 article on the economic and environmental dimensions).
Incorporation of environmental, ethical, legal, philanthropic and economic aspects in the modified Carroll’s pyramid model of CSR is observed to establish a positive and significant relationship with organizational performance, thereby enabling long-term sustainable growth and competitive advantage coupled with smart factory concept adoption
Firms with a keen eye for sensing technological opportunism, adoption of technology and exploitation of technology with effective government regulations are in a favourable position to attain environmental, social and economic sustainability.
IIoT enablement of SMEs from German and Chinese cases reveals ecological benefits, resource efficiency and energy efficiency as key findings. Moreover, it is imperative for good management practices with circular economy concepts or lean practices to help in achieving economic and environmental sustainability. The transformation is marked by upgrading of skills and education of the existing workforce to ensure social sustainability within the firm. The challenges of IIoT adoption in China are increasing competition, lack of financial resources and fear of retrenchment due to adoption.
The bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer with 64 documents yielded 42 keywords, which were checked for plurality, synonyms and redundant terms by creating a thesaurus file. Input of 64 documents (Excel csv files) and the thesaurus file resulted in a refined co-occurrence map of keywords with 27 keywords, which needed to be frequent at least once in the dataset (see
In the bibliometric analysis, four prominent clusters, namely green, blue, yellow and red are observed. The term/keywords sustainability and e-commerce are prominent spheres (size) indicating high occurrence frequency. Sustainability is directly associated with (linked or co-occur) with terms like social media (SM) and SM adoption, learning, stakeholder, government regulation, policy implementation, environmental factors, and financial sustainability with ICT (red cluster) as the enabler. Overall sustainability enabled by ICT, SM and aforementioned drivers are the findings from the map. SME is found co-occurring with e-commerce (green cluster) and blue cluster apart from sustainability links (yellow and red cluster). E-commerce is the strong driver co-occurring with e-strategy, competitiveness, international business and information services which emphasis the digital orientation of SMEs with the need for data driven culture to enable GVC. Digitization, value innovation and servitisation are the factors implicit to digital intervention. Whereas ICT, SM, e-commerce, technology adoption, technology opportunism and focus on data collection are the enablers for SME growth.
Further bibliometric analysis was conducted using the VOSviewer software package.
From
The literature review is based on gaining insight into three underpinning concepts namely, SME, digital transformation and sustainable development through employing appropriate search strings. Initial descriptive statistical analysis identifies the concept to be active since 2017 with active research collaborations worldwide (27% of documents under international category) and with 20% of articles being published in the
The technology adoption within these 10 documents indicates smart technology and general ICT as highly favoured and CPS being the least. This is followed by IoT/IIoT over cloud computing and big data with equal prominence. The technology associated to realise TBL (6 documents) are in the same order but, general ICT excels over smart manufacturing with the absence of big data intervention, while cloud computing shares equal adoption weightage with CPS. Digital strategies, innovative strategies, value creation strategies and strategic model are the drivers observed under the category of business strategy. Marketing execution capability, digital product display capabilities, BDA skills, IT skills, project operational capabilities and managerial capabilities with qualifications and training are found to exert positive influence in attaining economic sustainability (least) and overall sustainability (maximum) depending on management support.
Networking, e-market sensing ability, GVC, online marketing, social media marketing, industry-specific web portal as an IT resource as well as green purchasing activities and green manufacturing initiatives indicates the impact of technology (online presence and online business) to realise economic and environmental sustainability. Additionally, investments in human and social capital aim to upgrade skills, data sharing with stakeholders with trust, cyber-physical integration and emotional marketing, digital assets and skills to integrate into customers’ processes and digital transformation strategy with digital resources and networking are the findings to enable social sustainability of SMEs. Value creation strategies with stakeholder integration and other sector collaboration with digital intervention is observed as a mechanism to attain TBL. This mainly requires integrating all dimensions of sustainability in the business model with aptitude for adoption (change management, technology opportunism) with green manufacturing process as well as supporting government regulations and strict policy implementation. Skills, data access, digital resources and stakeholder integration are key. General ICT with 32% adoption, smart technology 16%, cloud technology and IoT/IIoT each contributing 12% followed by internet enabled platforms 10% are the key technology interventions observed in the SLR synthesis. The order is almost similar to that observed from the 10 articles extracted from the synthesis featuring TBL and more than one dimension of sustainability, except ICT and smart manufacturing appear with equal magnitude.
The VOSviewer analysis categorically highlights ICT, SM, e-commerce, technology adoption, technology opportunism and focuses on data collection as the factors to sustainability. The map identifies environmental factors and financial sustainability linked to sustainability apart from social media, government regulation, implementation and ICT. Further, ICT is the enabler, finding application in e-commerce business. International business, information service (data), digital strategy are factors enhancing competitiveness and sustainability. Value innovation, servitisation and digitalisation are the drivers co-occurring with SME term. The observation from VOSviewer runs parallel to the SLR approach except for the absence of terms describing social dimension and Industry 4.0 technologies.
The SLR based study has enabled synthesis of a number of specific future research directions, which have been generated in a similar way to the study by
Digital transformation and the wider Industry 4.0 paradigm involve a range of different technologies, such as IoT, CPS, big data and AI/ML. Consequently, there is a need to investigate which technologies have the capacity to have the greatest impact on the performance of SMEs. This includes understanding which technologies impact on sustainability as well as the level of maturity of the technology and the corresponding viability of adopting the technology in certain timeframes (such as short-term, medium-term and long-term). Technology maturity can be assessed using the technology readiness level (TRL) framework.
The readiness of SMEs to adopt technologies, such as smart manufacturing, IoT and internet-enabled platforms as part of digital tool intervention is described in detail in the SLR, however, there is a need for further investigation of the cost/benefit analysis associated with digital transformation by SMEs.
There is need for a greater understanding of the benefits to be gained from digital transformation and how specific technologies can be linked to increased competitiveness as well as improved productivity. This knowledge can be used to inform digital transformation strategies adopted by SMEs, including consideration of which technologies to be adopted in the near-term, mid-term and long-term horizons.
Traditionally achieving economic sustainability is the main focus for SMEs but in order to fully realize sustainability, this needs to be accompanied by both environmental and social sustainability. However, there is the potential for trade-offs between these three orientations and there is a need to understand how such trade-offs can be mitigated so that SMEs realize sustainable development across all three dimensions of the TBL.
The pursuit of ‘green manufacturing concepts’ and adoption of a ‘go-green strategy’ requires sustainability assessment according to a cost effective, efficient, automated, comprehensive and systemic approach. SMEs can be burdened while in pursuit of this goal, hence there is a need for support mechanisms to be in place. Consequently, further investigation is required of the type of support mechanisms made available to SMEs.
In regard to sustainable development, there is a deep understanding of the economic sustainability of firms (including SMEs) as well as an emerging appreciation of environmental sustainability. However, there is a lack of recognition of studies on social sustainability, including understanding how social impact can be optimized by SMEs and especially in emerging economy situations. Further studies are required to investigate this important area.
There is a need to understand how SME business models are configured to accommodate technology maturity, organizational structure and process as well as other factors such as leadership competencies, digital skills and knowledge. New business model development is required so that SMEs can balance the costs of digital transformation against the benefits arising from sustainable development.
Technology-driven innovation with value creation strategies support the process of SMEs engaging customers, suppliers and stakeholders thereby fostering market activity. This necessitates trust amongst stakeholders through data sharing with IP protection, although there is a need to understand how this can be supported by standard guidelines and regulations. Research studies are needed on the nature of these guidelines and regulations and how they can be optimally configured.
SMEs need access to the necessary skills and knowledge to pursue a pathway towards sustainable development. Where appropriate, education and training mechanisms should be developed to support this requirement along with a focus on the leadership capabilities that are required. Further studies are needed on how such support mechanisms can be designed to enable SMEs to undergo digital transformation towards the goal of sustainable development.
The qualitative synthesis of documents through the SLR approach has revealed many insights, such as the pivotal role of organizational culture with an aptitude towards technology adoption and subsequent data management as the foundations for SMEs to undergo digital transformation. Sustainability initiatives through digital technology are enabled through innovative strategies. This calls for sustainability assessment to identify the requisite parameters and assist managers or leaders to transform SMEs in an efficient and effective manner. Organizational structure and processes need to be streamlined as this directly impacts implementation of digital technologies. Moreover, the selection of technology depends on the digital orientation adopted. Innovativeness and high-performance mean that management requirements become the priorities in transformation rather than the sophistication of the technology itself. It can be observed that advanced technologies, such as robotics appear to fare equally well compared to general ICT facilities, thereby implying innovation, skill and management are essential drivers alongside technology sophistication.
A set of future research directions have been synthesized from the SLR. Moreover, future work is recommended to build on this SLR through capturing empirical data (from surveys and interviews) on how SMEs can undergo the process of digital transformation towards sustainability. In particular, such studies should identify technology priorities (for near, medium and long-term perspectives) as well as develop suitable technology roadmaps to facilitate digital transformation according to the economic, environmental and social performance of SMEs.
This research was supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering (Funder Identifier: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000287) through the Engineering X Transforming Systems through Partnership programme (TSP2021\100320). The authors would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback and insightful comments that have helped to improve the quality of the article.
Source: Authors’ own
Technology | Literature |
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General ICT (information and communications technology) |
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Cloud computing |
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Cyber physical system (CPS) |
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IoT/IIoT |
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Big data |
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) |
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3D-Printing |
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Blockchain |
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Robotics |
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Smart manufacturing |
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Internet enable platforms |
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Technology/digital/Industry 4.0 and tools |
|
Source: Authors’ own
Sustainability dimension | Literature |
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Sustainability as a generalized term in article. |
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Economic |
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Environmental |
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Social |
|
Source: Authors’ own
SME key dimensions | Literature |
---|---|
Business strategy and management |
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Organizational structure |
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Organizational culture |
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Skills and qualifications |
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Leadership |
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Source: Authors’ own
(1) Sustainability
(2) Big data
(3) Cloud
(4) CPS
(5) IoT
(6) Smart Manufacturing
(7) General ICT
Literature | (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (8) | Concepts discussed | SME dimension |
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E, En, S | X | Technological opportunism, business sustainability and governmental regulations. | Organizational culture | |||||
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E, En, S | X | X | X | X | Global value chain, value creation strategies, digital product display capabilities, integrating cultural content design and online marketing, brand marketing with cyber-physical integration and emotional marketing. | Business strategy & organizational culture | ||
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E, En, S | X | Sustainability decision-making, digital transformation, cost, environmental impact, and social impact and robotics. | Leadership | |||||
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E, En, S | X | Sustainability assessment, key performance indicators, economic, environmental, social and governance dimensions and automated information system. | Business strategy | |||||
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E, En, S | X | Carroll’s pyramid model, business strategy, corporate social responsibility, green manufacturing processes, green supply chain management, green products, organizational innovation and corporate or brand image. | Business strategy | |||||
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E, En, S | X | Triple bottom line, social challenges, capabilities data process and exchange and social benefits. | Skills/ qualification | |||||
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E, S | X | X | X | Sustainable business performance, organization structure and process. | Organizational structure | |||
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E, S | X | X | Digital transformation strategy, network organizations, business network commons quality, social responsibility and digital transformation. | Skills/ qualification | ||||
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E, S | X | High-performance people management practices, digitization, productivity, innovation, business processes | Organizational culture | |||||
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E, En | X | Project performance, top management, project knowledge management focus on sustainability, green purchasing, environmental technologies, social responsibility, project operational capabilities, project complexity, collaboration and explorative learning, and project success and strategies. | Skills/qualification & strategy |