Advanced Manufacturing Technologies and Digital Commerce Integration in Spanish Industry: Innovation Outcomes and Sustainability Pathways

Daniel Arias-Aranda (), Pedro A. García-López and F. Gustavo Bautista-Carrillo
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Daniel Arias-Aranda: Departamento de Organización de Empresas I, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Pedro A. García-López: Departamento de Estadística e Investigación Operativa, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
F. Gustavo Bautista-Carrillo: Programa de Doctorado en Derecho y Sociedad, Universidad a Distancia de Madrid, 28040 Collado-Villalba, Spain

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 22, 1-23

Abstract: This study investigates the interplay of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT), digital commerce, circular economy intensity, and digital maturity on innovation outcomes among Spanish manufacturing firms in the post-pandemic era. Drawing on resource orchestration theory and survey data from 1813 companies, the analysis employs regression and mediation techniques to assess direct and indirect effects on product and process innovation. Findings reveal that AMT adoption leads to modest, context-dependent improvements in process innovation, while effects on product innovation are limited or negative; e-commerce adoption alone does not predict substantial innovation gains, and jointly adopting these technologies rarely produces amplifying results. Greater circular economy intensity mediates a negative relationship with process innovation, indicating possible resource trade-offs between sustainability initiatives and innovation goals. Digital maturity inconsistently strengthens positive impacts and can further moderate innovation outcomes in interaction with circular economy practices. Notably, economic benefits from circular economy practices are concentrated in export-oriented firms and not widely distributed in the sample. These findings challenge assumptions that digital and green transformations universally enhance innovation, advocating for tailored policy and organizational strategies that account for sectoral and contextual differences.

Keywords: advanced manufacturing technologies; digital commerce; innovation; circular economy; resource orchestration; Spanish manufacturing; digital maturity; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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