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 Figure 6. ICT/IT and other technologies (referred to as General ICT) account for 32%, smart technology (16%), cloud technology and IoT/IIoT each contributing 12% followed by internet enabled platforms 10%. General ICT appears to co-occur with the rest of the technology, while smart technology is usually described as a sophisticated adoption of automation through robotics. The role of Industry 4.0 technologies as an enabler impacting sustainability of SMEs are analyzed and elaborated (see Appendix 1).

A. General ICT (Information and communications technology)

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 (North et al., 2019). Indeed, Mukhtar et al. (2020) illustrate the impacts of IT (information technology) on the economic performance of SMEs in conducting sales activities. In other work, the application of a simple internet enabled platform, through an eco-sourcing tool grounded on Model View Control (MVC) architecture for SMEs, enables clients to select and order automobile products online (Anthony, 2019). Whereas Mekhum (2020) examined the relationship of supply chain cultural competence and adoption of supply chain technology for the performance of Thai SMEs. The study found that both factors impact performance, with supply chain cultural capabilities playing a crucial role in the adoption of supply chain technology.

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 Appendix 2).

A. Economic sustainability

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 Chege et al. (2020) through considering the impact of entrepreneurial innovativeness. The study provides recommendations to develop innovative strategies to actualize firm performance with government support and improve ICT infrastructure; promoting technological externalities within the industry and establishing ICT resource centres to boost SME performance.

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 (Lu et al., 2020). Economic, ethical, legal and philanthropic dimensions reveal a positive and significant relationship with organizational performance under the modified Carroll’s pyramids of CSR (corporate social responsibility). This outcome is vital for sustainability in the long run with a competitive edge.

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 Chen (2019). The former is achieved through IoTaaS driven value chains. The service orientation is achieved by integrating players of global value chains (GVCs) to co-create value for foreign customers. Sustainability through value-creation by identifying customer behaviour through data capture and involving them to participate in the business is the core concept. Growth through servitisation in the manufacturing sector accomplished through digitalisation is discussed by Coreynen et al. (2017). The managerial implications of servitisation and growth are the development of digital assets and skills to integrate into customer aligned processes.

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 (Chen et al., 2016). The service-oriented portal function dimension, consisting of portal maintenance service, B2B function and cloud computing, significantly influences organizational performance. Moreover, the impact of digital platform capability and network capability on SMEs financial performance has been researched in the extant literature (Cenamor et al., 2019). The networking capacity gained through the digital platform capability has a positive indirect effect on performance. Additionally, sustainable growth is through profitably utilising the potential of the platform and aligning with the most appropriate business orientation.

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 (Epping & Zhang, 2018). The results indicate the SME benefits from associated economic costs through robotic implementation.

B. Environmental sustainability

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 (Lu et al., 2020). Whereas Chen (2020) developed a strategic model for the innovative integration of textile manufacturing companies and cultural content industry into GVC elaborated through ‘green manufacturing concepts’.

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 (Epping & Zhang, 2018). The study identifies a range of tools that can be adopted in this regard, such as life cycle assessment tool (LCA) for identifying and quantifying the flows of materials and required energy and their emissions into the environment; public goods tool (PG) for a simple, measurable and accessible way of showing public goods reaching from different farming systems; ecological footprint-evaluation of processes according to environmental capacity using sustainable process index (SPI); carbon footprint calculators-carbon generated from agricultural business and fixed to soil and biomass on the land; comprehensive tools like multi-criteria tools, SAFA (sustainability assessment of food and agriculture systems); GRI (global reporting initiative) tools.

Cost effective, simple, efficient, automated, comprehensive and simplified systems for sustainability assessment are designed by Kassem and Trenz (2020). A simple automated information system WEBRIS (Web Information System for Corporate Performance Evaluation and Sustainability Reporting) is trial tested in the Czech breweries sector. The procedure relies on sustainability value added (SVA) as an effective method of sustainability assessment. The firm needs to identify economic, environmental, social and governance factors impacting overall sustainability. WEBRIS allows comparison with other firms to identify weak points arising from the calculated SAV (with all the 4 dimensions).

C. Social sustainability

The role of high-performance people management practices in realising productivity of the firm through innovation is presented in the literature by Llinas and Abad (2020) as illustrated through Spanish SMEs. The study observed people management practices to strongly correlate with productivity and innovation with Industry 4.0 technologies being the core enablers. The research study identifies that people management practices are a high priority for any firm adopting Industry 4.0. Incorporation of Carroll’s pyramid model in SMEs as an effective business strategy for overall organizational performance underpinning all the dimensions of sustainability has been well articulated (Lu et al., 2020). The important factor for business success is providing social or rational advantages as well as transitional advantages to all the stakeholders while the firm is set to transform.

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 Müller and Voigt (2018) are to facilitate training and re-educate employees while the firm is in transformative stage. This assures confidence and well-being for the workforce. The work by Haseeb et al. (2019) identifies that IT is available in organizations; however, the implementation of IT is often missing, and with negative sustainable business performance.

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, Epping and Zhang (2018) have employed such methods. Social life cycle inventory gathers both quantitative and qualitative data from processes to be analysed. Some of the social impacts from the manufacturing sector are related to wages and compensation, safety, personal and technical growth and social interaction. The study emphasises the need for fair salaries for employees along with health and safety considerations for employees while on duty.

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, Zoppelletto et al. (2020) attempt to answer the question: How can a digital transformation strategy (DTS) strengthen the relationship between network organizations and the generation/regeneration of their business network commons (BNC). In this regard, digital resources are found to be the key driver to promote BNC regeneration with DTS supporting quality and social responsibility. The research adds to the literature on the positive externalities of digitalization in the social and economic environment.

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 Appendix 3).

A. Business strategy and management

The need to develop innovative strategies to achieve firm performance are the recommendations from the research work of Chege et al. (2020). The research findings corroborate that technology innovation influences firm performance positively. The advent of Industry 4.0 interventions has drastically reduced the lifecycles of business models with a focus shifting towards innovation. The need to develop a new business model or adjust the existing one according to market demands and the innovativeness associated with the change are necessary. Moreover, the level of technology activities in the enterprise are positively impacted by the innovativeness of enterprises and the business environment (Pucihar et al., 2019).

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 Somohano-Rodríguez et al. (2020). However, knowledge of technology as well as selection and adoption of the optimal technology are often found to be lacking in SMEs. The need for a maturity level-based assessment tool therefore becomes a requirement. A maturity level-based assessment tool has been devised and tested on 17 companies by Rauch et al. (2020) with a repository of 42 Industry 4.0 concepts and a strategy based on the results of the assessment to support SMEs in introducing the most promising concepts. Furthermore, an illustration from the manufacturing sector (Jiwangkura et al., 2020) reveals IIoT implementation strategies with new HCI for SMEs in multi-dimensional facets. The findings provide insights into firms to adopt IIoT in their capacity to empower. An enterprise which attempts to adopt IT, system integration of information systems (IS) and business process automation to extract data with quality deliverance and BPM (business process management) is set to handle competition efficiently (Pomffyová et al., 2017). Moreover, Prause (2019) highlights that the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies and processes is primarily driven by external factors (market uncertainty) and less by internal drivers.

B. Organizational structure

Despite the challenges faced by technology adoption, Industry 4.0 technologies aid SMEs in sustainable performance. This notion is tested through studies from Thailand (Haseeb et al., 2019). It has been found that organization structure and process strengthen the positive relationship between Industry 4.0 and IT implementation. The readiness indicators towards Industry 4.0 are defined using bibliometric analysis evolving 5 clusters with organizational resilience being one of them. Under the dimension of organizational resilience, the factors of business model, business strategy, digital transformation, leadership, organizational structure and supply chain management can support SMEs’ Industry 4.0 readiness indicators. Additionally, a culture of communication between the interdisciplinary departments and workers with able support from management and organization strategies support adoption of Industry 4.0 principles.

C. Organizational culture

SMEs with the attitude and capabilities to adapt to the environmental changes need to be engaged in the business culture. Indeed, Mekhum (2020) remarks that “organizational culture must have strong liaison with the goals of organizations because it has direct association with organizational performance”. Research indicates that adaptive capability has a positive influence on innovation and competitive advantages. Further, innovation has become the mediation variable between adaptive capability and competitive advantages (Dewi et al., 2020). It is noteworthy that without the role of entrepreneurial orientation (EO), the level of digitalization does not predict the firm performance directly. Moreover, to perform in global market innovativeness capability, risk-taking, and proactiveness are crucial. Also, Chen (2020) identified that an effective value creation strategy through reaching GVC from Industry 4.0 adoption can be enhanced through trust that is developed with business partners.

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 (Irimiás & Mitev, 2020). Change management has a direct and positive effect on digital maturity and on business performance, while managers also perceive it is not profitable to go green. The need for managers to understand the merits of adoption, for instance, often confuse ERP adoption to realize a competitive edge and organizational performance as strategic benefits (Jayeola et al., 2020). This is set to counter the resistance to change within the firm. Further, SMEs need to bring in a resilient data-driven culture and infrastructure to reap the benefits of adoption such as BDA (Maroufkhani et al., 2020). A strong correlation between high-performance people management practices and success in Industry 4.0 leads to productivity improvements as discussed by Llinas and Abad (2020).

D. Skills and qualifications

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 Sariwulan et al. (2020). The study finds that positive correlations are observed between the pairs, namely: Digital literacy and entrepreneurial skill; economic literacy and entrepreneurial skill; economic literacy and performance. Digital literacy aids in business development through marketing networks assuring performance. Moreover, Bertello et al. (2021) in their investigation on the relationship between BDA and internationalization deduce that BDA infrastructure and the degree of internationalization is not a significant factor for productivity but rather the overriding factor is the status of the BDA capabilities.

The performance, especially the financial outcomes, of SMEs utilizing digital platforms indirectly through network capabilities is addressed in the literature by Cenamor et al. (2019). The platform enhanced capabilities have a positive relation with innovativeness. Chinakidzwa and Phiri (2020) report that digital strategy development and execution capability are the main reasons for final market performance outcomes of sales growth, market share and profitability in SMEs. Furthermore, a model developed by Kulathunga et al. (2020) aims to analyse the effect of techno-finance literacy and enterprise risk management (ERM) practices (i.e. applications) on the performance of SMEs. In this case, technological literacy and financial literacy have a positive effect on SME performance and ERM practices with higher financial literacy of SMEs enabling their ERM practices.

E. Leadership

The role of leadership and the factors affecting digital transformation in Omani SMEs using the technological, organizational, and environmental (TOE) model are reported by Alraja et al. (2021). The study recommends that leaders must formulate strategies to provide organizational and technological facilities for smooth transformation to enable capabilities and enhance international competitiveness. The transformation is set to surface various parameters for engineers and managers to consider.

Frameworks like the customer-product-process-resource (CPPR 4.0) model have been conceived in the extant literature (Martínez-Olvera & Mora-Vargas, 2019), which describes the value proposition-creation-capture cycle of an Industry 4.0 environment in the context of a manufacturing organization's customer, product, process and resource perspectives. The system dynamics model proposed in the study could be replaced by a discrete-event simulation and used as a what-if scenario testing tool to strike a balance between cost structure and revenue stream. These frameworks are ready for decision-making and forecasting tools for leaders and managers.