Technological Sustainability or Sustainable Technology? A Multidimensional Vision of Sustainability in Manufacturing

Marco Vacchi, Cristina Siligardi, Fabio Demaria, Erika Iveth Cedillo-González, Rocío González-Sánchez and Davide Settembre-Blundo
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Marco Vacchi: Department of Engineering “Enzo Ferrari”, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
Cristina Siligardi: Department of Engineering “Enzo Ferrari”, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
Fabio Demaria: Department of Economics “Marco Biagi”, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy
Erika Iveth Cedillo-González: Department of Engineering “Enzo Ferrari”, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
Rocío González-Sánchez: Department of Business Administration (ADO), Applied Economics II and Fundaments of Economic Analysis, Rey-Juan-Carlos University, 28032 Madrid, Spain
Davide Settembre-Blundo: Department of Business Administration (ADO), Applied Economics II and Fundaments of Economic Analysis, Rey-Juan-Carlos University, 28032 Madrid, Spain
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Davide Settembre Blundo

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 17, 1-18

Abstract: The topic of sustainability is becoming one of the strongest drivers of change in the marketplace by transforming into an element of competitiveness and an integral part of business strategy. Particularly in the manufacturing sector, a key role is played by technological innovations that allow companies to minimize the impact of their business on the environment and contribute to enhancing the value of the societies in which they operate. Technological process can be a lever to generate sustainable behaviors, confirming how innovation and sustainability constitute an increasingly close pair. However, it emerges that the nature of this relationship is explored by researchers and considered by practitioners almost exclusively in terms of the degree of sustainability of technological solutions. Lacking is an in-depth exploration of how a product or process, in addition to being environmentally and socio-economically sustainable, must or can also be technologically sustainable. This research therefore aims to build a theoretical foundation for technological sustainability seen as a possible fourth dimension of sustainable development.

Keywords: technological sustainability; manufacturing; sustainability; technology; impact assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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