Industry 4.0: the impact of realized absorptive capacity on environmental performance in the context of global distribution channels

Jenny Twyford, Osama J. Butt and Matti Haverila

Social Responsibility Journal, 2025, vol. 21, issue 8, 1722-1743

Abstract: PurposeThis paper aims to examine the impact of realized absorptive capacity, focusing on transformation and exploitation aspects, on the firm’s environmental performance, which includes emissions, innovation and resource efficiency.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was developed using established scales. In total, 255 respondents from the USA and Canada were collected using the Qualtrics marketing panel. The respondents worked in companies at least in the limited deployment stage of Industry 4.0 technologies. They were employed in marketing, business development or sales/distribution roles and worked for an international, multinational or global company. PLS-SEM was used for statistical analysis.FindingsThe results indicate that realized absorptive capacity positively impacts all aspects of environmental performance examined in this research. Consequently, it could reduce emissions, enhance innovative capabilities and improve the efficiency of organizational resource use.Originality/valueThis paper’s originality lies in examining realized absorptive capacity as a dynamic capability driving environmental performance, measured through emissions, innovation outcomes and resource efficiency. Distinctively, the findings challenge conventional assumptions by showing that both absorptive capacity and environmental performance are best captured through formative, not reflective, measurement models, highlighting that measurement approaches must adapt to contextual factors rather than assuming universal validity.

Keywords: Environmental performance; Emissions; Innovations; Resource use efficiency; Realized absorptive capacity; PLS-SEM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/srj/article/21/8/1722/1256 ... -realized-absorptive (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/srj/article-pdf/21/8/1722/ ... j-11-2024-0781en.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:srjpps:srj-11-2024-0781

DOI: 10.1108/SRJ-11-2024-0781

Access Statistics for this article

Social Responsibility Journal is currently edited by Prof David Crowther

More articles in Social Responsibility Journal from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().