EXPLORING THE SMART TECHNOLOGIES OF THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION – A TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Industry 4.0 and smart technologies are the most recent development of the manufacturing
system that involves an uncertain potential effect on the execution of Industry 4.0 towards
attaining sustainability. Therefore, this paper adds to the existing literature by scrutinizing the
role of Industry 4.0 technologies on its successful implementation and Triple Bottom Line
(TBL) sustainability. A new framework is proposed considering the role of smart
technologies that may be played to determine TBL sustainability and effective employment
of Industry 4.0 as a mediating variable. As the existing literature did not pay much attention
to sustainability from the financial, environmental, and social dimensions while executing
Industry 4.0, this study intends to evaluate the links among the variables from the Malaysian
perspective.
A quantitative analysis will be conducted through a questionnaire-based survey where the
SMEs will be the study population. The study intends to strengthen the literature on Industry
4.0, offering a well-structured discussion and a framework on sustainability and smart
technologies to produce useful understandings for future research.