ENHANCING SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING SUPPLY CHAIN PERFORMANCE THROUGH INDUSTRY 4.0 TECHNOLOGIES: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF PROCESS INNOVATION IN PAKISTAN’S MANUFACTURING SECTOR

Abstract

The thesis explores the role of Industry 4.0 technologies in improving the performance of sustainable manufacturing supply chain, and process innovation is among the mediating factors that the research focuses on in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan. Over the past few years, the manufacturing companies in the developing economies like Pakistan have been under pressure to enhance the effectiveness of their supply chains and at the same time achieve the goals of the supply chain of environmental, social and economic sustainability. The use of digital technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, automation, artificial intelligence, and cyber-physical systems has become the key to Industry 4.0, which can reform the existing manufacturing and supply chain practices. Nevertheless, even as it becomes increasingly topical, the empirical evidence concerning the translation of Industry 4.0 technologies into successful results of sustainable supply chain performance is quite a scarce area of study, especially when it comes to the emerging markets. Filling this research gap, the current research seeks to investigate the direct effect of Industry 4.0 technologies on the sustainable manufacturing supply chain performance and study the mediation mechanism of influencing this relationship by process innovation. The resource-based view and the dynamic capability theory provide the basis of the study conceptualizing Industry 4.0 technologies as some strategic resources allowing companies to create their innovative processes, improve the transparency of their operations, make resource use more efficient, and better coordinate the work of the supply chain partners. The quantitative method of the research approach is adopted with the help of the data collected among manufacturing firms in Pakistan with the help of the organized survey instrument. A sophisticated statistical model, that is a structural equation modeling with partial least squares (PLS-SEM) is utilized to test the hypothesized relationships and prove the mediating effect of process innovation. The supply chain performance in terms of sustainability is further measured in economic, environmental and social aspects, which represents a comprehensive viewpoint towards sustainability. It is anticipated that the findings will indicate that Industry 4.0 technologies significantly contribute to sustainable performance of the supply chain both straight away and indirectly through the main contribution to the innovation of processes in the supply chain. It is expected that process innovation will mediate more significantly as it will help firms to redesign production processes, minimize waste and emissions, maximize energy conservation, quality, and responsiveness to market and stakeholder needs.