I4.0SUST
Industry 4.0 Impact on Sustainability
The Research Project
Industry 4.0 and Sustainability: opportunities and challenges for Italian firms (I4.0SUST)
Introduction
In recent years, a set of technologies – such as internet of things (IoT), cyber-physical systems (CPS), big data analytics, autonomous robots and augmented reality – have been simultaneously applied in manufacturing, leading to a new paradigm labelled Industry 4.0 (I4.0).
The interest for the topic by scholars, managers and policy makers has risen in the last few years and many countries – including Italy – have developed national plans to support and incentivize companies that invest in new capital goods, both tangible and intangible, functional to the technological and digital transformation of production processes.
Besides, extant research suggests that I4.0 offers opportunities to address one of the key challenges that our society is currently facing, i.e., sustainability.
Our project investigates the impact of I4.0 on sustainability in metal products and machinery industry, with the purpose to ascertain and indicate improvement directions.
Research Objectives
The I4.0SUST project – financed by NextGenerationEU – European Union – aims at:
(1) developing and empirically validating a comprehensive framework on the impact of I4.0 adoption on sustainability performance using the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) conceptualization of sustainability;
(2) identifying sustainability best practices hinging on the adoption of I4.0 in the metal products and machinery industry and translating them into a set of possible paths for improving the sustainability performance of Italian firms.
Work Packages
WP1 – Coordination and Quality Control
The coordination will consist in the synchronization of the project tasks and of the timing of the activities performed by each unit, in the monitoring of the work progress, the progressive definition of the schedule and of the deadlines, the quality control of the activities, and the organization of project meetings.
WP2 – Literature review
It is aimed at building a conceptual map of the theoretical and empirical knowledge on the different components of the proposed framework.
WP3 – Research framework and protocols
It defines the research methodologies and the protocols to be used in the field work (WP4).
WP4 – Field work / data collection
It is broken down into two sub-packages:
a) case study collection and analysis following a common developed research protocol (WP4.1).
b) survey analysis will concern the plant level and supply chain level (WP4.2).
WP5 – Analysis of results and framework development
The aim of this WP is to explore the Mechanisms (capabilities enabled by I4.0 technologies) through which sustainability impacts (defined Outcomes in the framework)
can be produced.
WP6 – Dissemination of results
Key Deliverables
- Academic journals papers
- Conference papers
- Organization of 2 special tracks at a national conference and at an international conference
- Organization of stakeholder events
Staff
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
Project Coordinator
Guido Orzes
Associate Professor
Dominik Matt
Full Professor
Margherita Molinaro
Assistant Professor
Ahmed Mohamed Omar Hmouda
Research Fellow
University of Palermo
Local Unit Coordinator
Erica Mazzola
Associate Professor
Manfredi Bruccoleri
Full Professor
Mariangela Piazza
Assistant Professor
Sergio Riotta
Research Fellow
University of Udine
Local Unit Coordinator
Marco Sartor
Full Professor
Guido Nassimbeni
Full Professor
Giovanna Culot
Research Fellow
University of Catania
Local Unit Coordinator
Carmela Di Mauro
Full Professor
Maria Daniela Giammanco
Associate Professor
Alessandro Ancarani
Full Professor
Rebecca Fussone
Research Fellow
Published Papers
- Culot, G., Podrecca, M. and Nassimbeni, G., 2024. Artificial intelligence in supply chain management: A systematic literature review of empirical studies and research directions. Computers in Industry, 162, p.104132.