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To accomplish the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the manufacturing industry faces significant hurdles, particularly in embracing green servitization and circular economy ideas and confronting the dearth of research on green servitization for sustainability. To fill this lacuna, this study examines the role of green servitization in promoting circular economy practices (CEPs) and sustainability in Malaysian manufacturing firms. A robust framework has been forged based on the natural resource‐based view (NRBV) theory. Data from a survey of 251 manufacturing firms (Malaysian and Japanese) were collected and analyzed using a hybrid methodology that included structural equation modeling and artificial neural network (SEM‐ANN). The research findings from SEM highlight that green servitization positively promotes CEP and sustainable performance. Furthermore, CEP has a mediating role between green servitization and sustainable performance. The ANN results indicate that CEP is the dominant predictor of sustainability dimensions. Unlike the prior research that theoretically assumes that all relationships are linear, this has been the nascent study that has successfully validated that there exists a nonlinear relationship in the NRBV framework. Based on the outcomes, study contributions, practical implications, and future research avenues have been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industry 4.0 is primarily driven by technology, while Industry 5.0 (I5.0) places more emphasis on the interaction between human (socio) and technology (technical) aspects in shaping sustainability. Although I5.0 represents a burgeoning area of research, however, there remains a paucity of research on the sociotechnical perspective of quality management (QM) and sustainability in I5.0. This study intends to investigate the direct and indirect effects of socio-technical components of QM on sustainable performance through agile manufacturing, as well as the moderating role of firm size on these relationships. Data is gathered from 298 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through a survey approach employing proportionate stratified sampling techniques. The findings support the socio-technical view of QM in Industry 5.0. Unexpectedly, employee education and training has no significant role in enhancing technical QM practices. Furthermore, QM and agile manufacturing are crucial to achieving sustainable performance in manufacturing SMEs. Finally, firm size has played a significant role as a moderating variable, particularly in I5.0. Based on the findings, the study offers novel theoretical contributions and practical implications by shedding light on the nuanced role of QM and agile manufacturing on sustainability within Malaysian manufacturing SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eco‐innovation capability's enhancement of the operational competitiveness of Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) remains under explored in emerging markets. Furthermore, limited evidence exists on the influence of ownership structure on eco‐innovation capability and operational performance. This study therefore examines the relationship between eco‐innovation capability, ownership structure and operational performance of ESCOs. Questionnaires are electronically distributed to Operations Managers of 287 ESCOs registered by the Energy Commission in Malaysia. To test the direct and moderating effects, Partial Least Square‐Structural Equation Modeling (PLS‐SEM) is applied on 136 valid responses. Results suggest Eco‐innovation Capability significantly enhances ESCOs operational performance, with the model explaining 66% (R2 = 0.656) of the variance. Furthermore, a concentrated ownership structure resulted in higher eco‐innovation capability and operational performance. These results provide pathways for industry practitioners to improve sustainable development contributions and operational performance whilst providing policymakers with a benchmark towards evaluating the effectiveness of the National Energy Policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockchain technology has emerged as a transformative solution for enhancing transparency and accountability across various dimensions of sustainable development. Given the limited exploration of Blockchain's synergy with sustainable development goals, there exists a compelling rationale to undertake a bibliometric literature review aimed at identifying forthcoming research trajectories. Employing the "Blockchain" AND "Sustainable Development Goals" keywords, an extensive search was conducted across Scopus and Web of Science databases. This endeavor yielded a corpus of 271 articles published within the span of 2017 to 2023. Subsequent adherence to inclusion and exclusion criteria refined this collection to 183 documents for meticulous Bibliographic Analysis through the Biblioshiny application of the Bibliometrix R package. The study charts a promising trajectory characterized by upward trends in recent years, unveiling the most prolific authors, productive nations, frequency of keywords, thematic evaluation, and collaborative endeavors. Delving into the systematic literature review, the research introduces five discernible future trends, along with a comprehensive research framework designed to amplify the generalizability of findings to pertinent stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular economy and green governance are gaining momentum and traction with industry and policymakers. The circular economy is viewed as a restoration and regeneration system in which resources, energy usage, and greenhouse gases are minimized. At the same time, the Green Governance structure is a good transition to a circular economy and helps enterprises to move toward sustainable development. This study's objective is to explore the hidden possible relationship that exists between the Green Governance of companies and the much-anticipated Circular Economy for low waste and carbon society. Furthermore, an extensive literature review was undertaken to create the first green governance circular economy framework (GGCE) for businesses to integrate the proposed model into their operational activities. This GGCE framework will be developed by exploring the similarities between green governance and circular economy. This study has three expected findings; firstly, the proposed framework will help firms to change their business approach to addressing climate change. Secondly, the GGCE framework will help policymakers to develop policies for circular economy governance. Lastly, it will be the point of reference to the academician for further extension of the GGCE framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digitalization transforms the business environment, and organizations face challenges to make progress. The initial step to support organizations is to evaluate their readiness, resources, and capabilities for improvement. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) theory, the purpose of this study is to empirically analyze the effect of digitalization of Total Quality Management (TQM) or Quality 4.0 on industry 4.0 (I4.0) readiness and actual practices of I4.0 with firm size as a moderator. Based on data from 228 respondents, the study model was empirically validated in Malaysian small-medium enterprises. The results revealed that soft TQM (top management commitment (TMC) and human resource management (HR) and hard TQM practices; process management (PM) and quality information & analysis (QIA)) are positively associated with I4.0 readiness that further improves the actual practices of I4.0. Contrary to our expectations, education and training have no significant effect on I4.0 readiness. The results also show the mediating role of I4.0 readiness between TMC and QIA with the actual practice of I4.0. Furthermore, firm size significantly moderated the proposed relationships. The established framework helps managers to anticipate their management decisions' effects on those results affecting I4.0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and medium enterprises are vital components for economic growth globally. Similarly, the Malaysian manufacturing SMEs has contributed greatly in developing Malaysia’s economy. However, higher failure rate of the Malaysian SMEs is a great concern among researchers and government bodies. Currently, the industry 4.0 has changed the business environment globally. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate the relationship of ownership structures on firm performance with a mediating role of innovation. Baron and Kenny approach of mediation analysis was used on the sample of the Malaysian manufacturing SMEs. The results revealed that, majority SMEs prefer traditional business methods, which causes the higher failure rate in the industry.

Driven by Cyber Physical Systems, Big Data Analytics, Internet of Things and Automation, Industry 4.0 is expected to revolutionize the world. A new era beckons for enterprises of all sizes, markets, governments, and the world at large as the digital economy fully takes off under Industry 4.0. The United Nations has also expressed its desire to usher in a new era for humanity with the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG’s) replacing the Millennial Development Goals (MDG’s). Critical to the achievement of both of the above-mentioned ambitions is the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources. Big Data Analytics, an important arm of Industry 4.0, gives organizations the ability to eco-innovate from a resource perspective. This paper conducts an analysis of previously published research literature and contributes to this emerging research area looking at Big Data Usage from a strategic and organizational perspective. A conceptual framework that can be utilized in future research is developed from the literature. Also discussed is the expected impact of Big Data Usage towards firm performance, particularly as the world becomes more concerned about the environment. Data driven eco-innovation should be in full motion if organizations are to remain relevant in tomorrow’s potentially ultra-competitive digital economy.

The primary objective of this study is to examine the present literature of Total Quality Management (TQM) and its connection with industry 4.0. The author tried to understand what subject and problems might be deemed more relevant, referring to the so-called Quality 4.0, which is absent from the literature to open avenues for further research. To achieve the primary objective, the author reviewed the literature on TQM from the objective (soft) and subjective (hard) perspectives, followed by identifying the critical success factors and future research avenues for researchers. A total of 87 empirical studies from 1987–2019 were studied. The descriptive and thematic analysis identified the soft and hard total quality management practices. A quality tool, 'Pareto Analysis', was applied to soft and hard TQM practices. The comprehensive review identified 23 soft and 15 hard TQM practices in the manufacturing and services sectors. The findings revealed four soft dimensions for the effective implementation of Quality 4.0 in business: Top management commitment, customer focus, training and learning, and quality of big data and analysis. Furthermore, three hard dimensions revealed the effective implementation of Quality 4.0: process management, continuous improvement, and product/service design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]