DIGITALIZATION POSITIVELY ASSOCIATES WITH THE ADOPTION OF SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE METRICS IN MAINTENANCE PRACTICE: PRELIMINARY STUDY FINDINGS

The study investigates the relationship between digitalization and sustainability in maintenance decision-making. The analysis relies on raw and coded data from a questionnaire-based survey targeting manufacturing companies in the Republic of Serbia. Our findings suggest a strong positive association between digitalization and sustainability (Kendall’s τb = 0.324, Z = 2.681, p = 0.007), demonstrating that digitalization plays a vital role in adopting sustainable maintenance performance metrics. In addition, factor analysis leveraging Multiple Correspondence Analysis suggests an association between technology, digitalization and maintenance of sustainable responsibility levels, providing additional evidence about digitalisation's role in adopting a sustainable maintenance approach.