Mapping the global research landscape of sustainable supply chains in the industry 4.0 era through a triple bottom line perspective

The confluence of sustainability concerns with the rapid growth of digital tools is reshaping how global Supply Chains (SCs) function in the Industry 4.0 (I4.0) age. This work digs into the shifting terrain of Sustainable Supply Chains (SSC) through a bibliometric analysis of 1,286 Scopus-indexed studies published between 2015 and 2025. Using R-studio software, the study tracks who is leading in the research arena, including the top authors, institutions, countries, and journals. For a better understanding of the findings, the Triple Bottom Line framework is used, weighing economic, environmental, and social angles. This study unveils a sharp surge in SSC-I4.0 publications after 2018, with India, China, and the UK contributing the most in terms of volume, while journals like Sustainability and Journal of Cleaner Production carry many of the publications. The mapping also reveals a familiar set of digital technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, and Internet of Things. These technologies are positioned as tools for cutting waste, boosting transparency, and guiding systems toward circular practices. Economic and environmental priorities dominate attention, while social factors such as labor equity, governance challenges, digital access, and acceptance remain underexplored. The analysis highlights the inherent tensions between sustainability and digitalization, revealing a landscape of both opportunities and blind spots. This underscores the need for more cross-border, interdisciplinary, and methodologically diverse research to strengthen the social dimension of SSCs while enhancing system resilience. Collectively, these insights provide a nuanced, though complex, foundation for scholars advancing theory and practitioners navigating the realities of digitally enabled SCs.