Towards sustainable manufacturing: How does digitalization and development affect sustainability barriers?

This study analyzes the relationship between digitalization and sustainability in the manufacturing industry, considering the effects on sustainability barriers and the existence of differences in the level of development between countries and regions. While digitalization can improve efficiency and support sustainable goals, mixed results from previous studies suggest that there is still a need to understand how this relationship works. Using a sample of 1334 manufacturing companies with more than 20 employees from the Flash Eurobarometer 486 database and by conducting multiple regression analysis, the results reveal that although digital technologies can directly enhance environmental sustainability, the level of development moderates the effect of digitalization on the various barriers to sustainability. This study contributes to the field by deepening the knowledge about the trade-offs between digitalization and sustainability in virtue of the existence of digital divide between different levels of development among countries.