Sustainable Practices in Manufacturing SMEs: The Importance of Technological Collaboration between Supply Chain Partners

Cristina López-Cózar-Navarro (), Tiziana Priede-Bergamini and Diego Cuello- de-Oro-Celestino
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Cristina López-Cózar-Navarro: ETSIAAB, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Tiziana Priede-Bergamini: School of Social Sciences and Communication, Department of Economy and Business Analytics, Universidad Europea de Madrid, 28670 Madrid, Spain
Diego Cuello- de-Oro-Celestino: Faculty of Social Sciences, Law and Communication, Department of Business Organization and Marketing, Universidad de Valladolid, 40005 Segovia, Spain

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: The development of new technologies within Industry 4.0 (I4.0) may serve as a catalyst in the development of sustainable practices (SP), particularly in the case of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This paper contributes to the literature by examining the development of technological collaboration agreements between supply chain partners as an influence factor that may impact the environmental commitment of SMEs. Specifically, we study whether the type of partner within the supply chain impacts a firm’s spending or its investment decision toward SP. To that end, we propose an analysis model that considers supplier and customer relationships separately, and the SP measure to be taken distinguishing between expenses and investments. Additionally, empirical research comprising descriptive statistics and econometrics using the regression technique has been conducted on a sample of 1808 Spanish industrial firms. Our results confirm that there are significant differences between SMEs and large companies when developing SP, and that these SP in SMEs depend on the chosen partner and measure. Finally, we offer our main conclusions, as well as relevant recommendations for managers, public administrators, suppliers, and customers, who are essential players in the I4.0 revolution and are under social pressure to promote sustainable development.

Keywords: sustainable practices; industry 4.0; suppliers and customers; SMEs; collaboration agreements (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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