Aligning sustainability goals of industrial operations and marketing in Industry 4.0 environment for MSMEs in an emerging economy

Abstract

Purpose It is crucial for the Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to implement a few of the most important Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies and reap maximum benefits of sustainability. This paper aims to prioritize I4.0 technologies that can help achieve the sustainable operations and sustainable industrial marketing performance of Indian manufacturing MSMEs. Design/methodology/approach I4.0-based sustainability model was developed. The model was analyzed using data collected from MSMEs by deploying analytic hierarchy process and utility-function-based goal programming. To have a better understanding, interviews were conducted. Findings Predictive analytics, machine learning and real-time computing were found to be the most important I4.0 technologies for sustainable performance. Sensitivity analysis further confirmed the robustness of the results. Business-to-business sustainable marketing is prioritized as per the sustainability need of operations of industrial MSME buyers. Originality/value This study uniquely integrates literature and practitioners’ insights to explore I4.0’s role in MSMEs sustainability in emerging economies. It fills a research gap by aligning sustainability goals of industrial buyers with suppliers’ marketing strategies. Additionally, it offers practical recommendations for implementing technologies in MSMEs, contributing to both academia and industry practices.