The Interplay Between Digital Technologies and Sustainable Performance: Does Lean Manufacturing Matter?

Mohammed Ibrahim Buhaya and Abdelmoneim Bahyeldin Mohamed Metwally ()
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Mohammed Ibrahim Buhaya: Department of Accounting, College of Business Administration, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Abdelmoneim Bahyeldin Mohamed Metwally: Department of Accounting, College of Business Administration, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 22, 1-23

Abstract: This study examines how digital technologies can improve a company’s overall sustainability. It also explores whether lean manufacturing practices can mediate the connection between digital technologies and sustainability. Data were collected from 319 senior managers, production managers, and general managers at Egyptian manufacturing companies and examined using the software Smart-PLS 4. The results show that digital technologies (i.e., blockchain, the Internet of Things, big data analytics, cloud computing, and the digital twins) have a positive impact on all three aspects of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic. Additionally, lean manufacturing was found to play a key role in this relationship. The model explained 34.3% of lean manufacturing practices, 59.7% of sustainable economic performance, 40.3% of sustainable social performance, and 40.6% of sustainable environmental performance. The findings of this study have some implications for companies, investors, and policymakers regarding how to improve economic, social, and environmental performance through fostering LMP and proper implementation of Digital Technologies (DTs). The current investigation extends the discourse on the role of digital technologies and new manufacturing techniques like lean manufacturing and how they can lead to sustainable performance. Positioned as one of the initial studies to examine the mediating role of lean manufacturing in the association between digital technologies and sustainable performance, this study provides insights within an emerging market context.

Keywords: digital technologies; sustainable performance; lean manufacturing; sustainability; emerging economy; Egypt (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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