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The textiles and apparel industry is a major contributor to economic development while at the same time being one of the most polluting industries due to its lengthy supply chain and resource intensive production operations. To address these sustainability challenges, digitalization is seen as one of the potential solutions. Using the lens of sustainability and digitalization in Supply Chain Management (SCM), this paper analyses the sustainability and digitalization status of Dutch textile and apparel firms. We used a mixed methodology of quantitative text mining of 94 Dutch textile and apparel firms as well as qualitative thematic and coding analysis of experts' views and opinions on sustainability and digitalization in the Dutch textiles and apparel industry. Quantitative analysis of website data shows that Dutch textile and apparel firms predominantly communicate the environmental, to a lesser extent social, and least of all economic sustainability factors. Keyword analysis also shows that the use of technological keyword indicators is less prominent, while certain technologies such as IoT, sensors and blockchain correlate mostly to environmental sustainability factors. Moreover, qualitative analysis reveals that to address sustainability via digitalization, it is important to link sustainability goals to Key Performance Indicators, which requires data for traceability. We recommend firms to: (1) re-evaluate their business models and assess the extent traceability can be incorporated in their sustainability strategy; (2) enhance stakeholder collaboration within and outside the supply chain to utilize traceability; and (3) proactively use traceability information to improve transparency and accountability to meet legal requirements and address greenwashing. This study contributes to literature by showing the importance of traceability for (a) linking sustainability and digitalization in SCM, b) achieving the ultimate goals of transparency and accountability, and c) predicting demand and supply to address overproduction and waste in the textiles and apparel sector. • This study analyses the sustainability and digitalization status of Dutch textile and apparel firms. • Firms predominantly communicate environmental, followed by social and least of all economics sustainability, in their websites. • To address sustainability via digitalization, it is important to link sustainability goals to Key Performance Indicators. • Traceability data can improve transparency and accountability, as well as predictability of demand and supply in the chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While existing literature acknowledges the development of digital capabilities as essential for enterprises to achieve digital transformation, it falls short in offering comprehensive theoretical insights into the dynamic evolution of these capabilities, especially in the field of environmental and sustainability issues. This paper addresses this gap by employing an exploratory single-case study methodology to investigate the intricate process through which an ecological restoration enterprise in China updates its digital strategy, facilitating the dynamic evolution of its digital capabilities from a resource orchestration theory perspective. Our findings reveal a sequential evolution from digital strategy renewal to resource orchestration and, ultimately, the advancement of digital capabilities. Specifically, the enterprise engages in a co-adjustment and co-creation process, aligning its resources with a digital strategy refresh and fostering the emergence of digital integration and innovation capabilities through effective resource management. This includes the accumulation and divesting of resources as part of the construction process, alongside the enrichment and bundling of resources. This research bridges the gap in the current literature by providing a nuanced understanding of the mechanisms that drive the evolution of digital capabilities, and it offers a theoretical framework that integrates strategic renewal with resource orchestration for environmental and socio-economic sustainable development. Furthermore, the insights gained provide vital managerial implications for the governance, corporate social responsibility and policy of industrial digitalization towards global environmental practice and sustainable development goals (SDGs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of Industry 4.0 marks a transformative era for businesses and industries, characterized by advanced technologies like automation, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), smart factories, and cyber-physical systems. This revolution promises significant advantages, including enhanced productivity, sustainable progress, and heightened resilience. However, the integration of Industry 4.0 is challenged by the need for a skilled workforce with expertise in areas such as information technology and data analytics. Higher education institutions (HEIs) play a vital role in equipping future professionals with these skills, necessitating curriculum updates and infrastructure enhancements. Simultaneously, the importance of education for sustainable development (ESD) has been underscored by global initiatives like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ESD instills a sense of responsibility for economic, ecological, and equitable well-being. As digital technologies blur the lines between industries, education faces the challenge of adapting to evolving demands. The integration of AI tools in education has emerged as a catalyst for reshaping learning experiences, fostering innovation, and preparing individuals for the digital age. AI chatbots such as ChatGPT have garnered widespread attention and possess the potential to revolutionize various aspects of education. However, their integration raises ethical concerns, necessitates curriculum redesign, requires strategies for continuous learning, and demands alignment with industry standards. While the potential of AI integration in education is promising, there is a notable gap in the existing literature when it comes to exploring the ethical implications, the influence of AI on ESD, the impact on the structure of Blooms Taxonomy, collaboration between academia and industry, strategies for continuous learning, and the effective integration of AI tools for personalized learning. This paper aims to critically examine the integration of AI tools, with a specific emphasis on ChatGPT, in education within the context of ESD. It delves into the transformative potential, ethical considerations, imperatives for continuous learning, and the role of industry partnerships. By providing insights and strategies, this paper contributes to the ongoing discussion about the evolving nature of education in a technologically driven world, equipping academic institutions to navigate the complexities and opportunities associated with AI integration in education more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the digital era, digitalization brings great opportunities and challenges for cities' environmental governance and economic growth. However, it is worth noting that the impact of digitalization on cities' green transition has not been studied from the perspective of Metcalfe's Law. This paper uses the principal component method and non-radial directional distance function (NDDF) to calculate the digital development level and the green economic performance of 269 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2019. (1) The empirical findings demonstrate that digitalization has become a strong driver for cities' green economic transformation. (2) Digitalization indirectly promotes green transition through industrial structure optimization and green technological innovation. (3) The heterogeneity results show that the positive effect of digitalization on green development is more obvious in eastern and economically developed cities. (4) Using the partially linear functional-coefficient model (PLFC), this paper studies the non-linear nexus between digitalization and green economic transition from the perspective of Metcalfe's Law. Thus, Metcalfe's law is confirmed in the green transition of Chinese cities. Some policy recommendations are offered for realizing the coordinated development of digitalization and greening of the urban economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordination of economic development and ecological conservation has emerged as a global trend for sustainable development. This paper utilizes the "Broadband China" policy as a quasi-natural experiment, employing panel data from 279 prefecture-level cities spanning from 2006 to 2019. By constructing a spatial difference-in-differences (SDID) model, it examines the impact of digital infrastructure (DI) on industrial ecology (IE). The study finds that DI enhances both local and neighboring IE, with a spatial attenuation boundary of 600 km for IE impacts on neighboring cities. DI primarily facilitates the transformation of IE by promoting green technology innovation and expediting factor mobility. Heterogeneity analysis conducted using a spatial difference-in-difference-in-differences (SDDD) model reveals that DI has a greater impact on IE in resource-based cities, highly marketized regions, small-scale cities, and eastern regions. This research provides a novel perspective for exploring the transformation of IE theoretically and offers practical insights for leveraging digitization to promote IE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting industrial digitalization and deepening regional collaborative innovation is essential for achieving urban green and sustainable development. This paper constructs a differential game model based on theoretical analysis and reveals the influence mechanism of industrial digitalization and regional collaborative innovation on urban green development efficiency (GDE). After that, this paper uses the entropy method, Super-SBM model, and improved gravity model to measure the level of industrial digitalization, urban GDE, and regional collaborative innovation, respectively. Then, this paper constructs the fixed-effects model, SDM model, moderating-effects model, and threshold model, then uses the panel data of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) urban agglomeration during 2011–2020 for empirical testing. The results show that: (1) industrial digitalization significantly improves urban GDE. (2) Overall, 2011–2015 is the rapid development period of BTH industry digitalization, and 2015–2020 is its stable development period. However, there are apparent spatial differences and imbalances. (3) Industrial digitalization has a significant spatial spillover effect that can enhance local and surrounding cities' GDE. (4) Regional collaborative innovation can directly enhance urban GDE, and has a positive moderating effect on industrial digitalization to enhance urban GDE. (5) The regional collaborative innovation has two thresholds of 3.9851 and 6.6184. With the collaborative innovation level improving, the main effect intensity steadily increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development poses a grand challenge for society, addressed by organisations through their public relations activities. Grand challenges are complex by nature and call for nontrivial solutions whose effects show at the level of society. That is why studying public relations' contribution to grand challenges requires a macro perspective that accounts for the dynamic interaction between individual, organisational, and system levels in a digital communication environment. This paper offers a new paradigm to analyse organisations' significant and at times undue impact on grand challenges through public relations. It develops a framework inspired by complex adaptive systems thinking and adopts its ten properties for public relations: emergence, adaptivity, heterogeneous actors, nonlinear effects, feedback mechanisms, self-organisation, phase transitions, networks, scaling, and cooperation. The paper applies the framework to the example of sustainable development. It shows why research on grand challenges requires a holistic perspective and how it can help study digitally born communication phenomena. The proposed complex systems paradigm provides space for critical, social scientific, and interpretative research lines in public relations. Inquiries start from the grand challenge and study the communicative interactions between organisations and other actors from existing theory while accounting for the ten properties of complex adaptive systems. The paper outlines how future research can enrich the study of public relations and discusses its limits. • Proposes a complex systems framework for analysing the role of public relations in debating society's grand challenges. • Complexity theories help understand digital issue debates as emerging societal phenomena. • The complex systems paradigm allows to analyse digitally born communication phenomena. • Provides a holistic perspective to analyse organisations' significant and at times undue impact on sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous advancement of the digital economy and green development strategies, exploring the impact of digital transformation on corporate green technology innovation becomes an importantly urgent issue. Based on the perspectives of asymmetric effects and structural breakpoints, this paper empirically analyses the effect of digital transformation on green technology innovation, as well as its heterogeneity and non-linear characteristics, using fixed effect models and panel threshold model with a sample of Chinese A-share-listed corporates from 2011 to 2021. The findings suggest that digital transformation of corporates can significantly promotes green technology innovation, which remains valid after a series of endogenous and robustness tests. Heterogeneous regression results shows that digital transformation exhibits an asymmetric impact on green technology innovation, with greater incentive effect for state-owned corporates, manufacturing corporates, and corporates located in areas with stricter environmental regulations. Additionally, threshold effect analyses prove that a positive non-linear relationship between digital transformation and green technology innovation, when corporate human capital, industry competition and regional institutional quality exceeded their respective structural breakpoints, the marginal contribution of digital transformation is further strengthened. This research provides clearer policy insights for corporates to promote cleaner production and low carbon development through digitization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the Circular Economy (CE) has gained attention as a strategy for achieving sustainable development through cleaner production and reducing waste and pollution. At the same time, digital technologies are recognized as crucial sustainability drivers by enabling efficiency, collaboration, and innovation. This research paper explores the factors that support Green Entrepreneurship (GE) and digitalization in the context of CE and Waste Management (WM) in Indian manufacturing "Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises" (MSMEs). Further, the study prioritizes, establishes a contextual relationship, and clusters the GE factors that enable digitalization in the CE and WM of Indian manufacturing MSMEs. To meet research goals, the study uses a mixed-methods approach that includes a literature review, qualitative interviews with MSME managers, and theoretical support (stakeholder theory, resource-based view, dynamic capability theory, met expectation theory, and upper echelons theory) to find the enablers. Further, two-phase "Multi-Criteria Decision Making" (MCDM) tools are utilized. Initially, the quantitative "Best-Worst Method" (BWM) was used for ranking, and then "Total Interpretive Structural Modeling" (TISM) was used to establish a mutual relationship among the enablers. The strength of relationships among the enablers was established based on "dependence power" (DEP) and "driving power" (DRP). The findings through BWM analysis show that among the main category, technology-based enablers, and among sub-categories, top management and organizational coordination are the high-priority enablers/sub-enablers to optimize sustainable action. The findings also suggest that technology infrastructure for cleaner and sustainable manufacturing, knowledge of green entrepreneurs, training, the dynamic capacities of digitalization towards a CE, subsidies, and finance are driving enablers. The research contributes to understanding the enabling factors of GE and digitalization and their interdependencies for CE and sustainable development. [Display omitted] • Green Entrepreneurship and Digitalization drive Sustainable Waste Management and Circular Economy. • Top management and organizational coordination are crucial for sustainable action. • Infrastructure and knowledge drive digitalization in the Circular Economy. • Digitalization and green entrepreneurship complement the circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deconstructs industrial green transformation into two aspects, industrial efficiency green transformation and industrial structure green transformation. We examine the impact of digital finance development on industrial green transformation using data from Chinese cities and listed companies. The results showed that: (1) digital finance can contribute to the green transformation of industrial structure distinctly but has an inhibiting effect on the green transformation of industrial efficiency. (2) Digital finance can promote capital-using technological progress and support industrial green transformation with its price effect and scale effect. (3) Higher government environmental preferences and governance capacity can strengthen the green transformation effect of digital finance. Strengthening financial supervision and narrowing the digital divide will help digital finance better support industrial green transformation. Digital finance development can more effectively promote the industrial green transformation of non-SOEs and enterprises with high financing constraints and high financial dependence. (4) Considering the financial attributes and highly polluting characteristics of real estate, digital finance exacerbates the pollution of the real estate industry. This study helps clarify the mechanism of digital finance supporting green development and provides some ideas for China's digital finance development and green economy transformation. • Deconstructing the industry green transformation (IGT) into EFFI and STRU. • Analyzing the synergistic effects of digital finance on the EFFI and STRU of the industry green transformation. • The positive impact of digital finance on the industry green transformation is statistically significant and robust. • The green transformation incentive effect of digital finance has significant heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technology has been gradually integrated into global production division of labor systems as a new key production factor. In the context of promoting green development, digital global value chains (GVCs) may become a new driving force to achieve emission reduction targets. In this paper, the World Input–Output Tables and logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) are used to construct the measurement and decomposition framework of the digital GVC, and the corresponding emission reduction effect and mechanism of action are analyzed. The findings indicate that, first, the change in the proportion of the digital GVC added value in the digital economic added value of various departments is the most important factor influencing changes in digital GVC embeddedness. Second, the emission reduction effect of digital GVCs is significant. Third, the mechanism of the emission reduction effect of the digital GVC lies in the negative population size effect associated with digital GVC embedding being greater than the positive economic growth effect and rebound effect, thus inhibiting the growth of greenhouse emissions. This study provides empirical support for understanding the development and evolutionary characteristics of digital GVCs in individual countries (or regions) and promoting the establishment of corresponding greenhouse gas emission reduction mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability, in terms of ecological, economic, and social sustainable development, and the advancing digitalization represent some of the most substantial societal challenges today. However, little is known about how different actors and decision-makers perceive the relationship of those two challenges. In our paper, by building upon framing theory and social representations theory, we address that gap by investigating how different actors perceive the interrelationship between digitalization and ecological, economic, and social sustainability. Such research is particularly important because understandings of digitalization and sustainability determine how different actors, including managers and policymakers, act in response to those imperatives. Following a multi-method approach, we combined media analysis with two experimental studies examining how various actors frame the relationship between digitalization and sustainability in media discourses and which dimension of sustainability—ecological, economic, or social—dominates. Building upon these results, the studies assess whether the extent of digitalization affects the perception of those three dimensions. Among our findings, perceptions of ecological and economic sustainability but not social sustainability seem to be affected by the extent of digitalization. For future research, those findings indicate the need for a more nuanced view on sustainability that accounts for its different dimensions, especially the social dimension and its relationship with digitalization. Beyond that, because the perceived link between digitalization and ecological, economic, and social sustainability guides how various actors, including managers and policymakers, respond to those imperatives, our work also has substantial practical implications as well. [Display omitted] • Four digitalization-sustainability frames identified by media analysis. • Frames identified: Stand-alone challenges, digital impact, digital ruin, positive catalyst. • The extent of digitalization impacts ecological and economic sustainability perceptions. • The extent of digitalization does not impact social sustainability perception. • A multi-method study is applied, combining media analysis with experimental testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]