Guest editorial: Sustainable innovation in management and entrepreneurship by using industry 4.0 Free

From a technological standpoint, adoption of Industry 4.0 practices can enhance environmental sustainability, provided there is strong organizational leadership and entrepreneurial frameworks that support such transformation (Tortorella and Fettermann, 2018; Prashar and Chaudhuri, 2025). They noted that the intersection of management innovation and technology-driven sustainability remains underdeveloped, particularly in emerging markets (Shafique et al., 2024; Sahu and Mishra, 2025; Singh et al., 2025). Furthermore, Bag et al. (2021) demonstrated the role of AI and big data analytics in optimizing resource efficiency and promoting green innovation and entrepreneurial activities. Nevertheless, they also acknowledged the absence of comprehensive studies linking these technologies to sustainable entrepreneurship at both organizational and ecosystem levels.

Global developments, such as the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), further highlight the urgency for businesses to adopt sustainable practices, with technology and innovation identified as critical enablers. The conference emphasized that organizations leveraging digital technologies for sustainability can make meaningful contributions toward global climate goals. Despite this recognition, existing literature continues to lack concrete strategies for aligning emerging technologies with sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems.

In parallel, societal shifts – most notably the rise of green consumerism – are compelling firms to rethink their innovation strategies to meet increasing consumer demand for environmentally responsible products and services. Khan et al. (2023) found that organizations integrating Industry 4.0 technologies with sustainability principles not only gain competitive advantages but also respond effectively to consumer expectations for transparency and ethical business practices. However, their study also revealed that sustainable innovation efforts are predominantly concentrated within large corporations, with limited research addressing how startups and small enterprises can harness these technologies for sustainable growth.

Finally, the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies into sustainability strategies plays a critical role in advancing the circular economy by enabling waste reduction, energy efficiency and product life extension (Geissdoerfer et al., 2017; Hammad et al., 2025; Zardo et al., 2025).

Within innovation science, scholarly inquiry has progressively evolved from linear models of technological advancement toward more systemic, multi-actor and impact-oriented perspectives. Contemporary innovation research increasingly recognizes that innovation outcomes are shaped not solely by technological novelty but by the ways technologies are embedded within organizational practices, entrepreneurial action, institutional arrangements and broader societal needs. The theme of this Innovation Science (SI) is therefore positioned squarely within this evolving intellectual trajectory of innovation science.

Khan et al. (2023) illustrated how technological innovation can help close resource loops within circular economy models, while emphasizing the need for greater scholarly attention on how such practices can be effectively adopted within entrepreneurial ventures and management frameworks. Traditionally, research on Industry 4.0 has been anchored in engineering, operations management and production systems, with a primary emphasis on automation, cyberphysical systems and efficiency gains. In parallel, sustainability-oriented innovation research has concentrated on eco-innovation, circular economy models and responsible business practices, often privileging strategic intent, regulatory frameworks or consumer demand (Bag et al., 2021). Despite the maturity of both streams, innovation science still lacks a coherent and integrative understanding of how these domains interact dynamically. This SI addresses this gap by conceptualizing Industry 4.0 technologies not merely as operational tools but as enablers of sustainable innovation systems that reshape managerial decision-making, entrepreneurial opportunity recognition and ecosystem-level coordination.

Several dimensions of this intersection remain underexplored or insufficiently theorized in the existing literature. First, much empirical research continues to focus on large manufacturing firms in advanced economies, leaving entrepreneurial ventures, small and medium-sized enterprises and emerging market contexts comparatively underrepresented. This omission is particularly consequential given innovation science’s growing emphasis on contextual embeddedness and the heterogeneity of innovation processes. Second, while sustainability is frequently treated as an outcome variable, relatively few studies examine how sustainability logics are embedded within the innovation process itself through digital technologies such as AI-driven analytics, IoT-enabled monitoring or platform-based collaboration. Third, dominant methodological approaches remain siloed, either technology-centric or sustainability-centric – limiting insights into cross-level interactions among technology, organizations and innovation ecosystems.

Through this editorial, we advance innovation science by foregrounding management and entrepreneurship as critical mediating domains through which Industry 4.0 technologies translate into sustainable outcomes. In doing so, it challenges the implicit assumption that technological adoption automatically yields sustainability benefits. Instead, the contributions collectively demonstrate how entrepreneurial agency, leadership, governance mechanisms and ecosystem alignment shape whether and how digital technologies support responsible and sustainable innovation. This perspective aligns with innovation systems theory while extending it toward deeper engagement with sustainability imperatives and digital transformation dynamics.

Moreover, this SI integrates emerging contexts and actors that are gaining prominence in innovation science but remain conceptually fragmented. Contributions engage with sustainability challenges in the Global South, entrepreneurial responses at the bottom of the pyramid and digitally mediated innovation ecosystems involving startups, communities, platforms and institutional actors. By incorporating these perspectives, the issue expands the empirical and conceptual boundaries of innovation research beyond firm-centric and technology-deterministic models.

From a theoretical standpoint, the SI draws implicitly on systems thinking and stakeholder-oriented perspectives, positioning sustainable innovation as a collective and relational process rather than an isolated organizational capability. It aligns with and advances debates on responsible innovation by examining how digital technologies can be governed and deployed to balance economic growth with environmental and social considerations. Importantly, rather than advancing a single dominant framework, this issue embraces theoretical pluralism, reflecting the interdisciplinary and evolving nature of innovation science itself.

Section 1 highlights that by placing Industry 4.0-enabled sustainability at the core of management and entrepreneurship research, SI contributes to integrating previously parallel conversations within innovation science. The current issue extends prior research by linking technological capabilities with sustainability objectives through entrepreneurial action and managerial practice, challenges overly deterministic views of digital innovation and offers a more nuanced, context-sensitive understanding of sustainable innovation in the digital era. In doing so, the issue reinforces innovation science’s ongoing shift toward relevance, responsibility and real-world impact, while opening new avenues for theory development and empirical inquiry.

The papers accepted in this SI collectively advance the conversation on how Industry 4.0 technologies, digital transformation and entrepreneurial capabilities interact to drive sustainable innovation across diverse contexts. Rather than approaching innovation as a linear or technology-deterministic process, the contributions reflect a pluralistic and integrative understanding of innovation, spanning strategic decision-making, entrepreneurial action, ecosystem dynamics and sustainability outcomes. Four interrelated thematic clusters emerge from the accepted manuscripts.

A recurring theme across the special issue is that Industry 4.0 capabilities do not directly translate into sustainability performance. Evidence from the Indian pharmaceutical sector demonstrates that digital capabilities improve environmental sustainability primarily through explorative and exploitative innovation, with resource orchestration capability strengthening these effects (Kumar et al., 2026). This highlights the importance of strategic alignment between technology investments and innovation processes.

Parallel insights emerge from the startup context, where AI and big data analytics capabilities enhance sustainable performance by enabling innovation ambidexterity. The findings underscore that managerial ability to structure, bundle and leverage resources is central to realizing sustainability benefits from Industry 4.0 (Kumar et al., 2025). Collectively, these studies position Industry 4.0 as a capability system, not a standalone technological solution.

Several contributions extend the sustainability–Industry 4.0 nexus to SMEs and microenterprises, emphasizing capability development over technological adoption. Evidence from Chinese micro and small enterprises identifies digital literacy, IT management capability, learning orientation and integrated digital marketing as key drivers of digital transformation, while performance outcomes remain secondary effects (Zhang et al., 2025). This reinforces the view that sustainable digital transformation is an evolutionary learning process.

Supporting this argument, research on AI adoption in SMEs shows that improvements in strategic decision-making, financial performance and customer engagement occur only when firms develop complementary organizational and analytical capabilities (Gabelaia and Hendieh, 2025). Together, these studies highlight that human capital and learning orientation are central to Industry 4.0-enabled sustainability, particularly in resource-constrained firms.

Entrepreneurial perspectives in this special issue emphasize green innovation as a key mechanism linking Industry 4.0 and sustainability. Empirical evidence from Indian SMEs demonstrates that green entrepreneurial orientation, learning orientation and green self-efficacy drive green innovation, which in turn enhances green social performance. The moderating role of green dynamic capability underscores adaptability as a critical sustainability enabler (J.C. and V., 2025).

Adding a leadership lens, one study reveals that age moderates entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial leadership competencies, influencing innovation at work. Drawing on upper echelons theory, the findings highlight how demographic and cognitive characteristics of leaders shape innovation outcomes, thereby enriching the micro-foundations of sustainable entrepreneurship in Industry 4.0 contexts (Pandey et al., 2025).

Marketing-focused contributions demonstrate how Industry 4.0 reshapes value creation and customer engagement in sustainable markets. The Marketing 4.0 framework identifies digital technologies, channel cohesiveness and mutual value propositions as core drivers of customer engagement and strategic marketing effectiveness in emerging economies (Vishnoi et al., 2026).

Complementing this view, research on digital travel marketplaces shows that Industry 4.0 technologies enable resource optimization, trust-building and environmentally sustainable digital business models. Customer acceptance is driven by performance expectancy, trust and satisfaction, positioning sustainability as an experiential and relational outcome (Anshari et al., 2025).

A notable contribution of this special issue lies in illustrating how Industry 4.0 supports sustainable innovation in traditionally unsustainable industries. Evidence from the Swedish fashion industry shows how digital technologies facilitate a shift from mass production to mass customization and personalization, reducing overproduction, inventory waste and unsold stock. Crucially, sustainable outcomes depend on inter-organizational collaboration and ecosystem-level knowledge access, rather than firm-level digitalization alone (Wulff and Gustafsson, 2026).

The issue broadens the sustainability discourse by examining financial inclusion and environmental outcomes enabled by Industry 4.0. A systematic review of peer-to-peer lending platforms demonstrates how blockchain, AI and big data analytics expand access to finance for underserved entrepreneurs, while highlighting regulatory uncertainty and trust deficits as persistent challenges (Laia and Windijarto, 2025).

At the macro level, longitudinal evidence on renewable energy systems shows that positive shocks in renewable energy generation lead to stronger emission reductions than negative shocks that increase emissions, emphasizing the importance of sustained, data-driven investment strategies (Agrawal et al., 2025).

Several papers converge on the insight that effective governance of Industry 4.0 adoption is essential for sustainable innovation. In healthcare, blockchain adoption is constrained by regulatory uncertainty and IoT integration challenges, necessitating structured barrier-management frameworks (Pasi et al., 2025). Similarly, research on drone adoption in the construction sector highlights regulatory, ethical and technical barriers, offering decision-support frameworks for responsible deployment (Pasi et al., 2025).

Apart from the discussed dimensions, prior research has advanced innovation science in multiple directions. Nimawat and Gidwani (2022) identified 16 factors for Industry 4.0, among which digital transformation and market response through innovation were the key factors. Human–technology collaboration, focusing on reskilling, digital literacy and the creation of augmented work environments where humans and intelligent systems work together to increase productivity, will facilitate Industry 4.0 (Al-Husseini, 2025). Sustainability-oriented innovation becomes a core element by embedding circular economy, energy efficiency and resource optimization into industrial design and operations.

It is also in platform-based ecosystems and open innovation networks where firms work jointly with startups, exchange their RIs and deliver new knowledge globally, thereby accelerating knowledge exchange and reducing time-to-market cycles. In addition, governance and cybersecurity frameworks serve as the pillars on which the safe use of data, regulatory compliance and trust in digital infrastructure can be anchored (Purusottama et al., 2022). Innovation science requires a transformation from stand-alone R&D activities toward an integrated socio-technical system that would pave the way for agile manufacturing, individual production and robust supply chains as steps toward achieving Industry 4.0.

This Special Issue advances innovation science by demonstrating that sustainable innovation in the era of Industry 4.0 is neither purely technological nor purely strategic but fundamentally systemic in nature. By bringing together diverse perspectives from management, entrepreneurship and sustainability research, the issue moves beyond fragmented debates and offers an integrated understanding of how digital technologies, organizational capabilities and entrepreneurial action jointly shape innovation outcomes. In doing so, it reinforces the growing recognition within innovation science that responsible and sustainable value creation must be examined across multiple levels – individual, organizational and ecosystem – rather than through isolated technological or firm-centric lenses.

The contributions assembled in this SI collectively enrich the field by extending theory into underexplored contexts, adopting methodologically pluralistic approaches and addressing innovation challenges that are both academically significant and societally relevant. By foregrounding sustainability alongside digital transformation, the issue also aligns innovation science more closely with contemporary global priorities, while retaining analytical rigor and managerial relevance.

We sincerely thank the authors for their intellectual commitment, openness to feedback and patience throughout the review process. We are equally grateful to the reviewers whose thoughtful, constructive and timely evaluations significantly enhanced the quality and clarity of the manuscripts. Their engagement reflects the collaborative ethos that underpins rigorous and impactful scholarship. We also acknowledge the continued support and guidance of the editorial team of the International Journal of Innovation Sciences, whose professionalism and editorial stewardship were instrumental in bringing this special issue to fruition.

We hope that this special issue stimulates ongoing scholarly dialogue and cumulative research on Industry 4.0–enabled sustainable innovation. The questions raised and insights offered here are intended not as definitive answers but as foundations for further inquiry. As digital technologies continue to evolve and sustainability challenges intensify, sustained engagement from the innovation science community will be essential in shaping research that is not only theoretically robust but also responsive to the needs of organizations, entrepreneurs and societies worldwide.