ESG Investment, German Industrie 4.0, and Blockchain: Conceptual Framework of This Book

Kazuyuki Shimizu ()
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Kazuyuki Shimizu: Meiji University, School of Business Administration

Chapter Chapter 1 in ESG Investment, German Industrie 4.0, and Blockchain, 2026, pp 1-27 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract The purpose of this chapter is to connect three domains—(1) ESG investment, (2) Industrie 4.0, and (3) blockchain technology—through the central concept of “data,” and to illustrate how these elements are reshaping the structure of modern industrial transformation and corporate governance. The chapter also serves to organize the key concepts and theoretical frameworks necessary for understanding the four-part structure of this book. First, the chapter redefines ESG investment by treating environmental, social, and governance factors not as mere numerical indicators but as “information” that gives meaning to decision-making. It also discusses the distinction between ESG and SRI, as well as the issue of greenwashing. Next, using the automotive industry as an example, it explains how IoT and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) in Industrie 4.0 reconfigure production and governance structures, thereby accelerating the datafication of corporate behavior. Furthermore, the chapter examines how the evolution of blockchain technology contributes to the reconstruction of trust, the development of decentralized governance, and greater transparency. Finally, it clarifies—through interdisciplinary perspectives from management studies, economics, and sociology—how these three domains complement one another as society unconsciously shifts (a phenomenon akin to the “reification” or “Fetischismus” of capitalism) toward a more sustainable socio-economic model.

Keywords: ESG (Environmental; Social; and Governance); Industrie 4.0; BlockchaiAIn; Value chain; Stakeholder theory; Smiling curve concept (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-981-95-6927-4_1

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DOI: 10.1007/978-981-95-6927-4_1

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