Journal of Cleaner Production 281 (2021) 125280

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Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Industry 4.0 enablers for a cleaner production and circular economy

within the context of business ethics: A study in a developing country
Masoud Shayganmehr a, Anil Kumar b, *, Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes c, Md. Abdul Moktadir d
a
Management and Economics, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
b
Guildhall School of Business and Law, London Metropolitan University, London, UK
c
Centre for Supply Chain Improvement, The University of Derby, Kedleston Road Campus, Derby, DE22 1GB, UK
d
Institute of Leather Engineering and Technology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1209, Bangladesh

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: To achieve sustainability, businesses are adopting Cleaner Production (CP) and Circular Economy (CE)
Received 27 June 2020 practices for producing better quality products at the lowest cost while decreasing the negative envi-
Received in revised form ronmental impact of their operations. The implementation of these practices is highly influenced by
14 November 2020
Industry 4.0 technology’s enablers, particularly within the context of ethical and sustainable business
Accepted 22 November 2020
Available online 26 November 2020
development. In this paper, a novel framework is proposed to assess the importance of Industry 4.0
enablers for implementing CP practices embedded in CE in the context of ethical societies and assess an
^ as de
handling editor: Cecilia Maria Villas Bo industry’s readiness. Firstly, the most effective context-related Industry 4.0 enablers are extracted from
Almeida previous studies and validated through a Fuzzy Delphi method. Secondly, the Interval-Valued Fuzzy Sets
(IVFS) based Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method is applied to evaluate the enablers’ weight. Due
Keywords: to existing ambiguities in the enablers, IVFS was applied to model the uncertainty in an interval [0,1]. The
Industry 4.0 final results indicate that the most important enablers are “Technical Capability”, “Security and Safety”,
Cleaner production Policy and Regulation”, “System Flexibility”, “Education and Participation” and “Support and Mainte-
Circular economy
nance” respectively. Thirdly, the Fuzzy Evaluation Method (FEM) was followed to evaluate the readiness
Business ethics
score of Industry 4.0 enablers for implementing CP practices embedded in CE and evolving ethical
AHP
Fuzzy sets theory principles of corporate social responsibility. This paper contributes to the CP, CE and ethics body of
Fuzzy evaluation method knowledge by proposing a framework for assessing the dimensions of Industry 4.0 enablers during the
implementation of CP and CE practices and to provide ethical and sustainable business development.
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction environmental performance. CE is also considered as an option for

replacing the traditional linear model by creating value-added
Strong competition in business causes organizations to change aimed at the long-lasting use of manufactures and components
manufacturing procedures and production patterns as well as (Devi et al., 20020; Rosa et al., 2020). CP is seen as a prerequisite
making large transformations in resource performance (Rosa et al., implementation of CE. The implementation of CE depends on the
2020). One of the best ways to optimize the usage of resources is by adoption of CP. For instance, pollution and waste prevention are the
deploying Cleaner Production (CP) and Circular Economy (CE) main responsibilities of CE, and these can only take place through
practices within a company’s operations. Circular Economy (CE) the adoption of CP (Sousa-Zomer et al., 2018). With the arrival of
concentrates on the regeneration and restoration of products and Industry 4.0, many businesses have faced big transformations and
components (Devi et al., 2020; Rosa et al., 2020). CE tries to prevent changes in terms of organizational procedures and business oper-
businesses from using toxic materials to facilitate the reusing of the ations. Industry 4.0 creates more flexible and efficient processes to
products. This contributes to enhancing resource efficiency and manufacture better quality products at a minimum cost as well as
improving a company’s competitive advantage (Devi et al., 2020).
Industry 4.0 is a strong enabler which has a constructive effect on
* Corresponding author. different business functions. Industry 4.0 optimizes the use of
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (M. Shayganmehr), computers and robots by making remote connections to decreasing
[email protected] (A. Kumar), [email protected] (J.A. Garza-Reyes),
human interactions and activities. Industry 4.0 is an essential
[email protected] (Md.A. Moktadir).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125280
0959-6526/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. Shayganmehr, A. Kumar, J.A. Garza-Reyes et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 281 (2021) 125280

requirement for leveraging the value chains of businesses (Singh and problem definition are included in section three. In the fourth
et al., 2019). Technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Big section, the research methodology is introduced. In section 5, the
Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cloud Computing help to extracted enablers are validated through Fuzzy Delphi and cate-
improve high-quality product manufacturing at a minim cost. In- gorized by expert’s judgments, then such enablers and sub-
dustry 4.0 can change all business processes including designing, enablers are assigned weights by using the IVFS AHP method.
production and delivery aimed at leveraging the efficiency of Then, a framework is developed and a case study conducted to
manufacturing (Rajput and Singh, 2019). validate it. In section six, the analysis and discussion are provided.
Different studies have shown that Industry 4.0 can work as an The theoretical and practical implications are included in section
enabler for CE (Aranda-Uson et al., 2020; Devi et al., 2020; Rosa seven, whereas the last section presents the conclusion of the
et al., 2020). Businesses cannot prevent themselves from applying research.
Industry 4.0 systems. The basic contribution of Industry 4.0 is
digitalizing CE practices through different cutting-edge technolo- 2. Literature review
gies. Industry 4.0 creates numerous opportunities for businesses to
improve circular performance and evolving ethical principles of In this section, the most relevant studies of Industry 4.0 in as-
corporates social responsibility (CSR). Industry 4.0 can act as a sociation with CP and CE implementation are reviewed and the
strong enabler for optimizing the usage and utilization of resources most effective Industry 4.0 enablers identified. Different studies
as well as improving the monitoring of product lifecycle steps (Rosa have displayed the game-changing role of Industry 4.0 in enabling
et al., 2020). and enhancing the performance of CP and CE in various contexts
One of the main objectives of CP and CE initiatives is to achieve (Aranda-Uson et al., 2020; Devi et al., 2020; Rosa et al., 2020). Lu
sustainability in the management of supply chains. In this context, et al. (2020) conducted a research study to examine the impor-
the application of Industry 4.0 as an enabler for CE does not tant role of Carroll’s pyramid model in small-medium enterprises
necessarily ensure sustainable supply chains if standard business (SMEs). The outcome suggested that the inclusion of Industry 4.0,
ethics are not followed. Therefore, these standards should also be CP and CE creates a synergetic business opportunity that results in
considered through supply chain activities to achieve sustainability sustainable development by enhancing environmental manage-
(Mirghafoori et al., 2018; Baliga et al., 2019). Business Ethics is ment, production efficiency and sustainable development for SMEs
delineated as moral concerns in circumstances, behaviours and in the context of ethical sustainable development. Ma et al. (2020)
actions of main suppliers through the entire supply chain proposed a data-driven based sustainable framework. The paper
(Goodpaster, 1991). Business Ethics principles are seen as one of the exhibited that Industry 4.0 technologies, e.g. Big Data and IoT,
main pillars of the management of contemporary supply chains, create numerous opportunities for a fast and efficient imple-
which have to be observed to reach long-term sustainable goals mentation of CP by making energy-efficient decisions for energy-
(Baliga et al., 2019; Mirghafoori et al., 2018; Yun et al., 2019). intensive manufacturing enterprises. Pham et al. (2019) proposed
Different studies have been conducted to explore how Industry a framework for explaining the effect of Industry 4.0 in accelerating
4.0 can work as an enabler for the implementation and improve- CE. The framework was developed for the electric scooter industry.
ment of CE (Aranda-Uson et al., 2020; Rosa et al., 2020). Following a The framework is comprised of enablers that include IoT, Big Data,
meticulous literature review, some important research questions Cloud Computing, Data-driven Analysis, Cyber-Physical System,
were formulated: Smart Feature (smart sensors, wireless communication) and Safety
RQ1. What is the main and broad comprehensive set of Industry and Environment.
4.0 enablers that could facilitate and support the implementation of Rajput and Singh (2019) identified the most important Industry
Cleaner Production (CP) embedded with Circular Economy (CE) 4.0 enablers for improving CE and manufacturing performance.
practices following business ethics? These enablers included Scalability, Modularity, Reliability, Quality
RQ2. What is the importance of Industry 4.0 enablers in the of Services, Integration, Self-organization, Maintenance and Re-
sustainable implementation of CE and CP in the context of business covery, Flexibility, Visual Computing, IoT, Self-Configuration, Value
ethics? Networks, Block Chain, Infrastructural Building, Service Economy,
RQ3. What is the best method for modelling the inherent existed System Integration, Energy and Waste Recovery, Big Data and
uncertainty in some of the enablers and sub-enablers to achieve a Collaborative Robotics. The study applied the DEMATEL method to
more meticulous computation? recognize the cause and effect of Industry 4.0 enablers and CE for
Following these research questions, the main paper’s objectives leveraging the effectivity of manufacturing performance.
are: Nascimento et al. (2019) proposed a business model for integrating
Industry 4.0 with CE to reuse and recycle wasted material. The

To recognize the broad comprehensive set of enablers for business model considered two Industry 4.0 enablers, i.e. Smart
implementing CP practices embedded with CE in the context of Production System and Additive Manufacturing, as the main factors
an ethical society. having a profound effect on the improvement of supply chain and

To find the preference and importance of Industry 4.0 enablers CE. A qualitative statistical method was applied to determine the
in implementing and developing these practices and evolving association between the enablers in the context of CE. Chauhan
ethical business principles and sustainable business et al. (2019) suggested a framework for integrating Industry 4.0
performance. and CE. The study showed that management involvement and

To find an effective method for modelling the subjective concept commitment are critical factors to integrate these two concepts.
of Industry 4.0 enablers in the implementation of CP and CE and Moreover, IoT and Cyber-Physical Systems were the main techno-
ethical and social performances. logical enablers for enhancing CE in different contexts. Qualitative
and statistical methods were applied to assess the potential asso-
The present work is organized into eight sections. The intro- ciation between enablers. Lopes et al. (2018) carried out a research
duction is provided in the first section. In the second section, the study to explore whether Industry 4.0 could enhance the perfor-
most relevant studies related to Industry 4.0 in association with CP, mance of CE and manufacturing sustainability. Their research
CE and ethical and social performance were reviewed and the most mostly concentrated on investigating different Industry 4.0 en-
impactful enablers identified. The identification of research gaps ablers in the implementation and development of CE. Lopes et al.
2
M. Shayganmehr, A. Kumar, J.A. Garza-Reyes et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 281 (2021) 125280

(2018) considered enablers that included IoT, Cloud Computing, 3. Research methodology
Additive Manufacturing and Cyber-Physical Systems.
Each of the aforementioned studies focused on limited aspects In this section, the applied research methodology is explained.
of Industry 4.0 enablers in enhancing and digitalizing Due to the existing ambiguity in some of the enablers and sub-
manufacturing processes and CE. These studies thus suffer from the enablers, Fuzzy sets theory was applied to capture the vagueness
lack of a framework for considering a broad view of Industry 4.0 of the data. Similarly, due to the absence of experts’ agreement on
enablers that can have a direct impact on leveraging production setting a single membership function for triangular numbers,
processes, supply chains and CE. Based on the reviewed studies and Interval-Valued Fuzzy Sets (IVFS) was applied to model the experts’
experts’ comments, the most effective enablers were identified in judgments in an interval.
order to unveil a comprehensive set affecting CE, supply chain Owing to the presence of various enablers and sub-enablers in
management and ethical sustainable performance. Table 1 shows the research problem, Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM)
the Industry 4.0 enablers for CP and CE implementation in the methods were used to determine their importance. Analytical Hi-
context of business ethics. erarchy Process (AHP) and Analytical Network Process (ANP) are
As it was explained in this section, each study has considered the two most common MCDM-based methods for assigning weight
restricted aspects of Industry 4.0 enablers for implementing CP and and determining the criteria (enablers) preferences. The absence of
CE. Moreover, each study mostly tried to use statistical methods to a correlation and dependency between criteria and sub-criteria
recognize the association of enablers with the concept of CE. In the (sub-enablers) called for applying AHP rather than ANP. Firstly,
next section, the literature review research gaps and problem Fuzzy sets theory and Interval-valued fuzzy sets theory were
definitions are discussed. employed to model the existing uncertainty in the problem. Sec-
ondly, Fuzzy Delphi method was used for validating the enablers
2.1. Research gap and problem definition through expert judgment. In the next section, the IVFS AHP method
is presented and used to assign weights to the Industry 4.0 en-
Industry 4.0 is a strong strategic tool for enhancing the effi- ablers. Finally, the Fuzzy Evaluation Method (FEM) was introduced
ciency and performance of supply chains and circular economy. A for calculating the readiness score of Industry 4.0 enablers in any
limited number of researches have been carried out to investigate potential case study.
and explore Industry 4.0 enablers (Aranda-Uson et al., 2020; Rosa The research methodology followed in this paper makes three
et al., 2020). As discussed in Section 2, there are five critical important contributions in the context of CP, CE and Industry 4.0.
research gaps identified from the previous studies:

No previous studies have applied Interval-Valued Fuzzy Sets

Each study has considered limited aspects of Industry 4.0 en- (IVFS) to capture experts’ judgment and model an interval in the
ablers and they have not proposed a comprehensive set of en- context of CP, CE and Industry 4.0;
ablers to create an association between supply chains, CE and
Fuzzy Evaluation Method (FEM) has been integrated with IVFS
sustainable ethical business development (Nascimento et al., AHP to conduct a quantitative analysis;
2019; Pham et al., 2019; Rajput and Singh, 2019).

The most commonly used methodology employed in the
reviewed studies was statistical methods which were trying to
prove any potential association between industry 4.0 enablers 3.1. Interval-valued fuzzy sets theory
and CE (Devi et al., 2019; Nascimento et al., 2019). Since some of
the enablers, e.g. education, management support and Fuzzy sets theory was firstly proposed by Zadeh in 1965 for
commitment, are subjective concepts and inundated with high modelling existed uncertainty in real phenomena (Tabaraee et al.,
ambiguity, statistical methods are unable to recognize the ~ in a universe discourse of X is delineated by a
2018). A fuzzy set A
appropriate and precise association and capture that inherent membership function mA~ ðxÞ that is associated with a member x in X.
ambiguity.
Membership function mA~ ðxÞ takes a value between zero and one. A

The previous studies mostly concentrated on the exploration of
higher value of membership function shows higher members
Industry 4.0 enablers and their effects on CE and supply chains
~ (Chu and Nguyen, 2019).
belonging x to fuzzy set A
for more sustainable and effective performance (Rajput and
Singh, 2019; Singh et al., 2019). No studies have developed a Fuzzy numbers are a subset of real numbers. Triangular fuzzy
framework to denote the importance and priority of such en- numbers A~ ¼ ða; b; cÞare the most common fuzzy numbers. These
ablers to help business managers adapting their potential plan are made of lower band l, median band m and upper band u. The
with enabler’s preference. membership function of triangular fuzzy numbers is delineated by

No studies have been conducted so far to propose a framework (Chu and Nguyen, 2019):
for evaluating the readiness score of Industry 4.0 enablers in CE 8
in the context of an ethical society and social responsibility as >
> xl
>
> if l  x  m
well as supply chains. >
< ml

Previous studies have focused on specific country and territory mx ðAÞ ¼ u  x if m  x  u (1)
>
>
in order to apply the suggested framework (Devi et al., 2020; >u  m
>
Singh et al., 2019) but no studies have been carried out within
>
:
0 Others
the context of Iranian manufacturing performance.
Since experts are unable to convey their judgments by a number
In this research, a novel framework is proposed for assessing between zero to one, they express their opinions in an interval [0,1].
Industry 4.0 enablers in terms of supply chain and CE imple- Additionally, experts do not have agreement on allocating a single
mentation and evolving ethical principles of social responsibility. membership function, therefore, normal fuzzy numbers are defined
The framework manages to fill the recognized existed research gaps in an interval. Interval-valued fuzzy theory was proposed by
in the previous studies by considering wider Industry 4.0 enablers Gorzlczany and Turksen in 1987 to model a problem’s uncertainty
and applying an appropriate soft computing method. in an interval (Wang et al., 2018).
3
M. Shayganmehr, A. Kumar, J.A. Garza-Reyes et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 281 (2021) 125280

Table 1
The most effective industry 4.0 enablers for improvement of CP and CE implementation within context of business ethics.

No. Industry 4.0 enablers Description References

1 Training Employers for better use of Industry Raising employers’ awareness by training them in different aspects of Industry Seuring et al. (2019); Moktadir et al.
4.0 technologies in the context of business 4.0 for evolving ethical principles of corporate social responsibility. Such (2018); Yun et al. (2019)
ethics practices help to increase Personal Staff Value (PSV) for behaving ethically in a
business environment as well as considering social responsibility for
sustainability in supply chian management (SCM).
2 Assuring the security of Industry 4.0 systems Boosting up employer’s confidence about the security of Industry 4.0 is Liu et al. (2017); Machado et al. (2020);
conducive of a fast implementation of CP and CE, which is seen as a policy Lu (2017); Gonzalez-Trejo et al. (2013)
maker’s social responsibility. Thus, trust and commitment will be leveraged
through suppliers as the main pillar of CSR. This is likely to increase
sustainability through the entire supply chain
3 Applying Machine learning systems Machine learning is considered an artificial intelligence tool for enhancing Gmelin and Seuring (2014); Katiyar
production efficiency and product and service design et al. (2018); Hong et al. (2019)
4 Applying flexible Industry 4.0 systems A flexible industry 4.0 system accelerates its integration with CP and CE, Xu et al. (2016); Gmelin and Seuring
creating a large number of opportunities (2014)
5 Effective performance metrics for assessing Applying sustainable and robust metrics is required to monitor the progress of Lu (2017); Sahebi et al. (2017);
the effectivity of CP and CE embedded with CP and CE implementation integrated with Industry 4.0. Moreover, business Alexander et al. (2014)
Industry 4.0 ethics criteria should be considered as social metrics for assuring sustainability
in SCM
6 Applying effective optimisation techniques Optimisation techniques are seen as Artificial Intelligence tools to standardize Mangla et al. (2013); Rajak and Vinodh
and optimize CP and CE implementation processes for sustainable (2015)
development
7 Using Industry 4.0 systems for assessing Industry 4.0 paves the way for more efficient product design as well as better Schwab et al. (2019); Seuring et al.
regular tracking of stock and in-process in-process inventory monitoring (2019)
inventory
8 Applying man-machine interaction High interactions between machine and human improve production efficiency Lu (2017); Sahebi et al. (2017)
and sustainable CP and CE implementation and development
9 Applying Industry 4.0 supportive policies Supportive policies have a direct effect on the further development of a Schwab et al. (2019); Hong et al. (2019)
sustainable environment and further enhancement of CE and CP. Such a policy
can help evolve ethical principles of social responsibility and increasing policy
maker’s responsibility for a more sustainable society
10 Applying Internet of Things Applying IoT helps organizations to get a competitive advantage for better Moktadir et al. (2018); Hong et al.
process monitoring as well as providing smart supply chain for production (2019)
efficiency. It also has a direct influence on the effectivity and sustainability of
CE and CP
11 Allocating appropriate budget for fostering Designating an appropriate budget for the development of smart Industry 4.0 Stoycheva et al. (2018); Latif et al.
Industry 4.0 facilitates accelerates the sustainable performance of CP and CE (2017)
12 Applying smart factory equipment Using smart factory components ensure overall sustainable development, Liu et al. (2017); Beekaroo et al. (2019)
including environmental, economical and social
13 Management level participation in Management commitment and support is a key business strategy to develop Schwab et al. (2019); Seuring et al.
developing industry 4.0 Industry 4.0 for more sustainable development of CP and CE within the (2018); Kumar et al. (2020)
context of business ethics. Additionally, management support paves the way
for creating ethical behaviour and more commitment between suppliers to
obtain a more effective SCM
14 Granting reward and incentives policy for Reward policies help employers to get more involved in adopting Industry 4.0 Mani et al. (2018); Liu et al. (2017);
faster development of Industry 4.0 for sustainable implementation of CE and CP and boosting up the ethical Latan et al. (2020); Latan et al. (2019a)
principles of corporate social responsibility
15 Ensuring employer’s privacy by deploying Keeping an employer’s privacy is one of the main aspects of business ethics Xu et al. (2016); Gmelin and Seuring
secure industry 4.0 principles. Such an issue can take place through creating a secure Industry 4.0 (2014); Mirghafoori et al. (2018)
platform to reach more sustainable SCM.
16 Recognizing potential implications of It is important to make employers aware of the precise implications and Liu et al. (2017); Beekaroo et al. (2019)
Industry 4.0 results of Industry 4.0 applications in the further development of CE and CP
sustainability
17 Creating a smart supply chain through The utilization of Industry 4.0 in supply chains increases the efficiency and Ma et al. (2020); Lu (2017); Sahebi
Industry 4.0 performance of manufacturing processes and effectivity of CP and CE et al. (2017)
implementation
18 Constant tracking of suppliers through Smart systems help stock managers to make the right decision for keeping the Moktadir et al. (2018)
Industry 4.0 systems stock at the optimum level for a sustainable business operation
19 Knowledge-based decision making in supply Knowledge-based decision increases the quality of sustainable development Stoycheva et al. (2018); Latif et al.
chain of CE and CP and improves operational efficiency. Such logical decision paves (2017); Yun et al. (2019); Latan et al.
the way for observing business ethics principles aimed at reaching more (2019b)
sustainable SCM.
20 Applying Big Data Analysing a large amount of collected data helps to make wiser and more Pham et al. (2019); Devi et al. (2020)
precise decisions and have a better understanding of all situations to create a
sustainable business development
21 Visual computing Computing tools help business managers to have a better analysis of supply Devi et al. (2020)
chains and operational management of CP and CE implementation
22 Additive manufacturing It is a strong tool which can replace conventional methods and paves the way Devi et al. (2020); Nascimento et al.
for further customization in the sustainable development of Industry 4.0 (2019)
integrated with CP and CE implementation
23 Operational efficiency Industry 4.0 provides a great opportunity for dealing with complexity and Lu et al. (2020); Devi et al. (2020);
improving manufacturing efficiency and business sustainability in CP and CE Tortorella et al. (2018); Gonzalez-Trejo
implementation. Applying business ethics principles have a direct effect on et al. (2013)
operational efficiency in sustainable SCM.
24 Cloud computing

4
M. Shayganmehr, A. Kumar, J.A. Garza-Reyes et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 281 (2021) 125280

Table 1 (continued )

No. Industry 4.0 enablers Description References

It provides a high volume of data collection and wide sharing of information Devi et al. (2020); Lopes et al. (2018);
between different sectors to make a more ethical business environment. Cloud de Bruin and Floridi (2017)
computing plays an important role in fostering business ethics principles by
providing higher transparency in data distribution.
25 Integration of Industrial systems It facilitates a smoother exchange of resources and lets them be shared Devi et al. (2020); Nascimento et al.
efficiently between different sectors aimed at enhancing the efficiency of (2019); Rajput and Singh (2019)
production performance
26 Infrastructure building To apply smart equipment, it is highly required to prepare the needed Kalmykova et al. (2018); Rajput and
infrastructure to embed the new equipment that leads to a more sustainable Singh (2019)
CP and CE implementation
27 Applying Block chain It is considered as a strong Industry 4.0 tool for regulating financial Rajput and Singh (2019); Queiroz and
transactions and providing agile and flexible CE Wamba (2019)
28 Self-adaptability It is highly required to make the CP and CE implementation process Athreya and Tague (2013); Rajput and
integrating with Industry 4.0 technologies to reach more sustainable Singh (2019)
manufacturing performance
29 Safety Employer’s safety is so pivotal and critical aspect in CP and CE implementation. Pham et al. (2019); Baliga et al. (2019)
Such an issue can be empowered through integration with Industry 4.0
capabilities. Thus, a safe environment encourages entities to behave more
ethically and morally within a safe environment which increases
sustainability in SCM.

3.1.1. Mathematical preliminaries experts’ judgments and opinions. In this method, a questionnaire is
The most basic concepts of interval-valued fuzzy sets are developed and distributed among a handful of experts to conduct
explained as (Wang et al., 2019): group decision-making examinations (Noori et al., 2020). Since
~ is delineated on ð ∞: þ∞Þ given by: some of the information is associated with subjective concepts, it is
Definition 1. A Fuzzy set A
highly recommended to use fuzzy numbers rather than crisp and
n h io definite numbers. The Fuzzy Delphi method was proposed by
A ¼ x; mAl ðxÞ; mAu ðxÞ ; x 2 ð∞; þ ∞Þ; mAl ðxÞ; mAu ðxÞ
Kaufmann and Gupta in 1988. In the present research, Fuzzy Delphi
: ð∞; þ ∞Þ2½0; 1 (2) was used to verify the identified Industry 4.0 enablers presented in
Table 2. A Fuzzy Delphi study is conducted through the following
steps (Singh and Sarkar, 2020; Zhang and Lam, 2019):
mAl ðxÞ  mAu ðxÞ; cx2ð∞; þ ∞Þ (3)
Step 1. Extracting Enablers: In the first step, the most effective
h i Industry 4.0 enablers were identified from relevant studies. These
mA ðxÞ ¼ mAl ðxÞ; mAu ðxÞ ; x2ð  ∞; þ ∞Þ (4)
are shown in Table 1.

Where mAl ðxÞ and mAu ðxÞ denote the lower and upper limits of Step 2. Collecting experts’ judgments: Experts’ judgments were
membership degree, therefore, the membership degree of each collected through a questionnaire handed out to a handful of ex-
member x* is delineated by ½mAl ðx* Þ; mAu ðx* Þ. The maximum and perts to provide their opinions by selecting a linguistic variable, see
minimum membership value of x* is denoted by mAl ðx* Þ and mAu ðx* Þ. Table 3.

Definition 2. ~ is shown
Interval-valued triangular fuzzy number A Step 3. Converting the linguistic variable: After collecting the
by: ~ ¼ ða ;
experts’ judgments, they were turned into fuzzy numbers Aij ij
h i h   i bij ; cij Þ following Table 3.
A ¼ AL ; AU ¼ aLl ; aLm ; aLr ; wLA ; aU U U U
l ; am ; ar ; wA (5)
~ ¼ a ; b ; c ; i ¼ 1; 2; …; n & j ¼ 1; 2; 3; …m
A (6)
ij ij ij ij
Where AL and AU show lower and upper components of A. Each
component is comprised of the left boundary, median boundary Where Aij shows ith enabler’s importance of jth expert. n shows the
and right boundary, which are represented by al ، am and ar number of enablers and m denotes the number of experts.
respectively. The maximum value of the membership function is
Step 4. Data Aggregation: In this step, experts’ judgments were
denoted by wA.
~ ¼ ða ; b ;
aggregated to determine the fuzzy weight of ith enabler A i i
Lemma 1. If AL ¼ AU (where aLl ¼ aU l
; aLm ¼ aU L U L
m ; ar ¼ ar ; wA ¼ ci Þ by:
U
wA ¼ 1), Interval-valued triangular fuzzy numbers are converted into
normal triangular fuzzy numbers.   Ym  
ai ¼ min aij ; bi ¼ j¼1 bij ; ci ¼ max cij (7)
Lemma 2. If aLl ¼ aLm ¼ aLr ¼ aU l
¼ aU U
m ¼ ar , the triangular fuzzy
numbers are changed to crisp numbers.
In this research, Interval-valued triangular fuzzy numbers were
Step 5. Deffuzification: In the last step, the fuzzy triangular
applied to model the existing uncertainty.
number was deffuzified by:
Definition 3. The most practical arithmetic operations on two
~ and B
interval-valued triangular fuzzy numbers A ~ are as: ai þ bi þ ci
Di ¼ ; i ¼ 1; 2; 3; …; n (8)
3
3.2. Fuzzy Delphi The computed value was then compared to a threshold ðqÞ. If the
score exceeded the threshold ðqÞ; it was then considered as an
The Delphi method was proposed by Dalkey in order to validate assessment enabler, otherwise it was removed. The value of the
5
M. Shayganmehr, A. Kumar, J.A. Garza-Reyes et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 281 (2021) 125280

Table 2
Arithmetic operations.

No. Operation type Result

1 Addition A þ B ¼ ððaU
l
þ bU
l
Þ; ðaLl þ bLl Þ; ðam þ bm Þ; ðaLr þ bLr Þ; ðaU U
r þ br ÞÞ
2 Subtraction A  B ¼ ððaU U L L L L U U
l  br Þ; ðal  br Þ; ðam  bm Þ; ðar  bl Þ; ðar  bl ÞÞ
3 Multiplication A  B ¼ ððaU  bU Þ; ðaLl  bLl Þ; ðam  bm Þ; ðaLr  bLr Þ; ðaU
r  br ÞÞ
U
l l
4 Multiplication of a positive crisp number (k) into interval-valued triangular fuzzy number k  A ¼ ððk  aU
l
Þ; ðk  aLl Þ; ðk  am Þ; ðk  aLr Þ; ðk  aU
r ÞÞ if k > 0
5 Multiplication of a negative crisp number (k) into interval-valued triangular fuzzy number k  A ¼ ððk  aU L L U
r Þ; ðk  ar Þ; ðk  am Þ; ðk  al Þ; ðk  al ÞÞ if k < 0

Table 3 the criteria and sub-criteria pairwisely of the linguistic variables

Converting linguistic variables into fuzzy numbers. shown in Table 4. Then, the variables were converted to interval-
Linguistic Variables Fuzzy triangular fuzzy number valued fuzzy numbers:
b. Data Aggregation.
Extremely unimportant (0.1,0.1,0.3)
Unimportant (0.1,0.3,0.5)
Since the number of experts exceeded one person, data aggre-
Normal (0.3,0.5,0.7) gation was required to turn a set of matrices into a single decision
Important (0.5,0.7,0.9) matrix:
Extremely important (0.7,0.9,0.9)
h   i
~
xij ¼ a0ij , aij ; mij ; bij , b0ij (10)

threshold was computed by the average of minimum value of the  

important linguistic variable (0.5) and the maximum value of a0ij ¼ Min xijk ; k ¼ 1; …; ƛ (11)
normal (0.7) linguistic variable. It was computed as 0.6 (Kumar
et al., 2018; Noori et al., 2020). Q 1  
ƛ
 
k
k¼1 xijk  Min xijk
aij ¼ Min xijk þ : k ¼ 1; …; ƛ (12)
3.3. Interval-valued fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process 2

Y ƛ 1
Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is an extensive MCDM mij ¼ x
k
; k ¼ 1; …; ƛ (13)
k¼1 ijk
method for ranking and assigning weights to criteria and alterna-
tives. The method was firstly introduced by Thomas Satty in 1970.
  Q 1
The problem structure of AHP method is usually a multilevel hi-   Min xijk  ƛ k
k¼1 xijk
erarchy. The top level indicates the problem’s goal solution and bij ¼ Min xijk  ; k ¼ 1; …; ƛ (14)
lower levels show criteria and sub-criteria. The method can easily 2
assign weight to criteria and sub-criteria by pairwise comparison at  
the given level (Singh et al., 2018). High precision in assigning b0ij ¼ Max xijk ; k ¼ 1; …; ƛ (15)
weight to criteria has attracted many researchers to apply it to
research activities (Minatour et al., 2016). The essence of the 2 3
method is based on pairwise comparison between criteria. The
6 ð1; 1Þ; 1; ð1; 1Þ / ~
x1n 7
pairwise comparison result at the given level is put down into a 6 ~
x ð1; 1Þ; 1; ð1; 1Þ « 7
~
Ann ¼ 6 7 (16)
decision matrix (6) (Singh et al., 2018): 6 « ~
xij « 7
4 5
2 3 ~
xn1 / ð1; 1Þ; 1; ð1; 1Þ
1 / a1n
6 a21 1 « 7
6
Ann ¼ 4 7 (9)
« aij « 5 xij is a pairwise comparison of criteria i and j. a0ij , aij , mij , bij
Where ~
an1 / 1 and b0ij are indicators of the left bound of the upper triangular fuzzy
membership function, left bound of lower triangular fuzzy mem-
Where aij is indicator of pairwise comparison of criteria i and j for ( i; bership function, median bound of fuzzy membership function,
j; f1; 2; …; ng). right bound of lower triangular fuzzy membership function and
Once the decision matrix is formed, the local importance of right bound of upper triangular fuzzy membership function
criteria is obtained by solving eigenvector of matrix. After calcu- respectively. ƛ shows the number of participating experts
lating local weight of the criteria, global weight of criteria is ob- expressing their judgments.
tained by integrating local weights with regards to successive c. Deffuzification.
hierarchy levels. After creating a single interval-valued fuzzy decision matrix by
Due to the inherent existing uncertainty in some of the criteria aggregating the experts’ judgments, the decision matrix was
and absence of experts’ agreements on linguistic variables and
membership function of fuzzy numbers, AHP method with crisp
and normal fuzzy numbers was unable to model the ambiguity. Table 4
Linguistic variables for comparing enablers’ preference.
Therefore, interval-valued triangular fuzzy numbers were used for
modelling the existing uncertainty. The interval-valued fuzzy AHP No. Linguistic variables Number Fuzzy Number
method stepwise consisted of: 1 Equal preference 1 [(1, 1);1;(1, 1)]
a. Pairwise comparison of criteria. 2 Less preference 2 [(1, 2);3;(4, 5)]
A set of pairwise comparison matrices were constructed by 3 Important 3 [(3, 4);5;(6, 7)]
collecting data from a limited number of respondents using a 4 More important 4 [(5, 6);7;(8, 9)]
5 Extremely more important 5 [(7, 8);9;(9, 9)]
questionnaire. The questionnaire enabled respondents to compare
6
M. Shayganmehr, A. Kumar, J.A. Garza-Reyes et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 281 (2021) 125280

deffuzified by: 2 3
r11 / r1m
6 7
a0ij þ aij þ 2  mij þ bij þ bij B ¼ W:R ¼ ðb1 ; b2 ; …; bm Þ ¼ ðw1 ; w2 ; …; wt Þ4 « 1 « 5
xij ¼ (17) rt1 / rtm
6 0 1
d. Normalization. B X
t   Xt Xt  C
¼@ wi * wi1 ; ðwi * wi2 Þ; …; wi * wim A
By this step, the crisp decision matrix was already normalized.
i¼1 i¼1 i¼1
The value of each element was divided by the addition of each
relevant column. (22)
e. Calculation of relative weight.
The relative crisp weight value of indexes were obtained by: B denoted the assessment result of criteria Dk associated with kth
element in the comment set.
2 38 Step 5. Deffuzification: The fuzzy score of sub-criteria and
x011 / x01n >
> Z1 ¼ x011 þ x012 þ … þ x01 n
6 0 7>>
> criteria were deffuzified by:
6x
6 21 … « 7 < Z2 ¼ x021 þ x022 þ … þ x02 n
7
A0nn ¼ 6 7 (18) Pm
6 « x0ij « 7> … b2i vi
4 5>>
> a ¼ Pi¼1 (23)
> 0 0 0 m 2
x0n1 / x0nn : Zn ¼ xn 2 þ xn 2 þ … þ xn n i¼1 bi

Where bi is an evaluation vector. vi shows comment value.

Zt ¼ Z1 þ Z2 þ … þ Zn (19)
4. The proposed framework
Z Z Zn
W1 ¼ 1 ; :W2 ¼ 2 ; :Wn ¼ ; (20) In this section, the proposed framework for evaluating Industry
Zt Zt Zt
4.0 enablers of CP and CE implementation in the context of business
Where Z1 represents an additional value of each relevant row and Zt ethics is introduced. After identifying the most adequate enablers,
is an additional value of the matrix elements. Wis the final criteria they were validated through the Fuzzy Delphi method. Then, the
weight value while n shows the number of criteria. validated enablers were classified into 6 main enablers and sub-
enablers. The validated enablers and sub-enablers were assigned
weights by using the IVFS AHP method. The Fuzzy Evaluation
Method (FEM) employed to assess the readiness scores of enablers
3.4. Fuzzy Evaluation Method and sub-enablers based on the proposed framework.
The research methodology process followed is illustrated in
The Fuzzy evaluation method uses fuzzy mathematic theories Fig. 1.
and arithmetic fuzzy operations to assess criteria and sub-criteria
by assigning a score (Guo and Li, 2019; Ramanayaka et al., 2019). 4.1. Validating the identified enablers
This method was applied in the present research at two levels for
assessing such criteria and sub-criteria. The method comprised of In this step, all relevant studies of Industry 4.0 enablers for the
the following steps (Ramanayaka et al., 2019): efficient implementation of CP and CE and sustainable ethical
Step 1. Assessors: A group of experts was selected to assess the development were reviewed and the most commonly stated in the
criteria and sub-criteria. The assessors did not need to be experts. literature were elicited as shown in Table 1. The Fuzzy Delphi
Step 2. Questionnaire: A declarative questionnaire was devel- method was then applied to collect experts’ opinions through a
oped following five verbal scales, i.e. excellent, very good, good, fair Likert scale questionnaire to validate the enablers.
and poor. The assessors’ response was assigned a numeric value for
turning qualitative into quantitative data as: V ¼
ð100; 80; 60; 40; 25Þ. The number of assessors was denoted by E ¼
fE1 ; E2 ; …; Em g; where m represented the number of assessors.
Step 3. Single criteria assessment: Each criterion was evaluated
by the relevant sub-criteria, independently of that shown by the
fuzzy vector Ri ¼ ðri1 ; ri2 ; …; rim Þ; i ¼ 1; 2; …n; Ri 2mðVÞ: m deno-
ted the number of comments set. The evaluation vector was
normalized, where ri1 þ ri2 þ … þ rim ¼ 1: Since each criterion was
made of different sub-criteria, all sub-criteria assessment was a
fuzzy relationship R from D to V:
0 1
  r11 / r1m
R ¼ rpq nm ¼ @ « 1 « A (21)
rn1 / rnm

Where rpq represented the grade of membership of sub-criteria Di

for the comment vj . n indicated the number of sub-criteria associ-
ated with the criteria Di .
Step 4. Evaluation result: the evaluation result was obtained by
multiplying the criteria’s weight vector into matrix R of the
assessment criteria: Fig. 1. Research methodology process followed.

7
M. Shayganmehr, A. Kumar, J.A. Garza-Reyes et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 281 (2021) 125280

After collecting the experts’ judgments, the enablers’ scores experts was selected from industry and academia. The vast majority
were calculated using equations (6)e(8). If the score was higher of the respondents had a PhD degree and Master of Science in In-
than 0.6, the enablers were accepted, otherwise, they were omitted dustrial Engineering and Information Technology Management. 75
(Kumar et al., 2018; Noori et al., 2020). Table 5 shows the final percent of the respondents were male (6 people) and 25 percent of
verified Industry 4.0 enablers. them were female (2 people). The respondents had experienced
As shown in Table 5, the vast majority of the enablers’ scores working in supply chain. 38 percent had more than 12-year of
were over the threshold (0.6), therefore, they were considered part experience, 37 percent had between 8 and 12-year of experience
of the assessment list of Industry 4.0 enablers for the imple- and 25 percent had 8-year of experience in supply chain and in-
mentation of CP and CE in the context of an ethical society. Just two formation technology. The final results are shown in Table 7.
enablers’ scores were below the threshold, i.e. “Visual computing” As shown by Table 8, the most important enablers that had the
and “Optimisation techniques”, so they were omitted from the list. strongest effect on CP and CE implementation within business
After validating the enablers, they were grouped into 6 categories ethics were “Technical capability” and “Security and safety”, which
based on previous studies and experts’ judgments. The final en- weight values were 0.23 and 0.21 respectively. Moreover, the least
ablers and sub-enablers are shown in Table 6. important enablers were “Support and maintenance” and “Educa-
As shown by Table 6, the proposed framework is comprised of 6 tion and participation”, which weight values were 0.09 and 0.13
enablers, including Technical capability, Policy and Regulation, respectively.
Education and participation, Security and safety, system flexibility
and support and maintenance. Each enabler is assessed by relevant
4.3. Readiness score - case study in an Iranian textile
sub-enablers, see Table 6. The Consistency Ratio (CR) was calcu-
manufacturing company
lated, resulting in a value of 0.081, which indicated high stability of
the decision matrix.
The proposed framework was deployed in one of the largest
Iranian textile manufacturing companies with more than 350 staff.
4.2. Assigning weight to the enablers and sub-enablers The readiness score of enablers and sub-enablers was obtained by
applying the Fuzzy Evaluation Method. In the first step, a ques-
In this section, the defined enablers and sub-enablers were tionnaire was distributed among a group of assessors to select a
assigned a weight value using the AHP method. Due to the existing linguistic variable (i.e. excellent, very good, good, fair, poor).
ambiguity in some of the enablers and sub-enablers, Fuzzy sets The readiness value was a number between zero and one hun-
theory was applied to model such ambiguity. Moreover, due to the dred. The higher the value, the higher a company’s readiness of
absence of experts’ judgments on allocating a single membership enablers and sub-enablers. Thus, the collected data indicated the
function for triangular fuzzy numbers, the membership function readiness score of the enablers, sub-enablers and overall readiness
was defined in an interval [0,1]. To collect the data, a pairwise- of the case company. The assessment of the enablers and sub-
based questionnaire was handed out to 8 experts. The selection enablers was conducted by 6 assessors from the company’s em-
criteria for experts included: 1) minimum education qualification ployees. Based on the framework’s approach, they were asked to
must be master in a related area and 2) they must have a minimum select a linguistic variable (i.e. excellent, very good, good, fair, poor)
of five years of research and/or industrial experience. A group of in order to express their judgment regarding the degree of

Table 5
The validated Industry 4.0 enablers.

No. Industry 4.0 enablers Response Score

1 Training Employers for better use of Industry 4.0 technologies in the context of business ethics 0.62
2 Assuring security of Industry 4.0 systems 0.64
3 Applying Machine learning systems 0.61
4 Applying flexible Industry 4.0 system 0.74
5 Effective performance metrics for assessing effectivity of CP and CE embedded with Industry 4.0 0.76
6 Applying effective optimisation techniques 0.52
7 Using Industry 4.0 system for assessing regular tracking of stock and in-process inventory 0.62
8 Applying man-machine interaction 0.63
9 Applying Industry 4.0 supportive policies 0.78
10 Applying Internet of Things 0.71
11 Allocating appropriate budget for fostering Industry 4.0 0.85
12 Applying smart factory equipment 0.74
13 Management level participation in developing industry 4.0 0.73
14 Granting reward and incentives policy for faster development of Industry 4.0 0.84
15 Ensuring employer’s privacy by deploying secure industry 4.0 0.88
16 Recognizing potential implications of Industry 4.0 0.82
17 Creating smart supply chain by industry 4.0 0.87
18 Constant tracking of suppliers by Industry 4.0 system 0.79
19 Knowledge-based decision making in supply chain 0.78
20 Applying Big data 0.81
21 Visual computing 0.48
22 Additive manufacturing 0.62
23 Operational efficiency 0.77
24 Cloud computing 0.78
25 Industrial system integration 0.74
26 Infrastructure building 0.80
27 Applying Block chain 0.72
28 Self-adaptability 0.76
29 Safety 0.87

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M. Shayganmehr, A. Kumar, J.A. Garza-Reyes et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 281 (2021) 125280

Table 6
Enablers and sub-enablers of the proposed framework.

No. Enablers Sub-Enablers

1 Technical capability Applying Machine learning systems

Applying man-machine interaction
Applying Internet of Things
Creating smart supply chain by industry 4.0
Applying Big Data
Additive manufacturing
Cloud computing
Infrastructure building
Applying Block Chain
2 Policy and Regulation Effective performance metrics for assessing effectivity of CP and CE embedded with Industry 4.0
Applying Industry 4.0 supportive policies
Allocating appropriate budget for fostering Industry 4.0
Granting reward and incentives policy for faster development of Industry 4.0
3 Education and participation Training Employers for better use of Industry 4.0 technologies in the context of business ethics and CSR
Management level participation in developing industry 4.0
Recognizing potential implications of Industry 4.0
4 Security and Safety Assuring security of Industry 4.0 systems
Ensuring employer’s privacy by deploying secure industry 4.0
Leveraging the employers’ safety by applying smart components
5 System flexibility Applying flexible Industry 4.0 system
Industrial system integration
Self-adaptability
6 Support and maintenance Using Industry 4.0 system for assessing regular tracking of stock and in-process inventory
Applying smart factory equipment
Constant tracking of suppliers by Industry 4.0 system
Knowledge-based decision making in supply chain
Operational efficiency

Table 7
Weight analysis.

Enablers Weight Ranking Sub-enablers Weight Ranking

Technical capability 0.23 1 Applying Machine learning systems 0.05 8

Applying man-machine interaction 0.03 9
Applying Internet of Things 0.13 4
Creating smart supply chain by industry 4.0 0.17 2
Applying Big data 0.11 5
Additive manufacturing 0.15 3
Cloud computing 0.06 7
Infrastructure building 0.21 1
Applying Block Chain 0.09 6
Policy and Regulation 0.18 3 Effective performance metrics for assessing effectivity of CP and CE embedded with Industry 4.0 4 0.14
Applying Industry 4.0 supportive policies 1 0.36
Allocating appropriate budget for fostering Industry 4.0 2 0.31
Granting reward and incentives policy for faster development of Industry 4.0 3 0.19
Education and participation 0.13 5 Training Employers for better use of Industry 4.0 technologies in the context of business ethics 0.26 2
Management level participation in developing industry 4.0 0.53 1
Recognizing potential implications of Industry 4.0 0.21 3
Security and Safety 0.21 2 Assuring security of Industry 4.0 systems 0.48 1
Ensuring employer’s privacy by deploying secure industry 4.0 0.31 2
Leveraging the employers’ safety by applying smart components 0.21 3
System flexibility 0.16 4 Applying flexible Industry 4.0 system 0.36 2
Industrial system integration 0.48 1
Self-adaptability 0.16 3
Support and maintenance 0.09 6 Using Industry 4.0 system for assessing regular tracking of stock and in-process inventory 0.17 4
Applying smart factory equipment 0.18 3
Constant tracking of suppliers by Industry 4.0 system 0.16 5
Knowledge-based decision making in supply chain 0.23 2
Operational efficiency 0.26 1

Table 8 development of the Industry 4.0 enablers in their companies. The

Readiness score of enablers in the case organisation. user’s comments were aggregated and set into a matrix. For
Enablers Readiness Score Current Status instance, the “Education and participation” enabler was made of 3
Technical capability 35.66 Fair
sub-enablers. When “Training Employers for better use of Industry
Policy and Regulation 41.35 Fair 4.0” was considered, 27 percent of the employees marked “Very
Education and participation 66.78 Good Good”, 29 marked “Good”, 16 percent marked “Fair” and 28 percent
Security and Safety 55.86 Good marked “Poor”. On the other hand, when “Management level
System flexibility 37.04 Fair
participation in developing industry 4.0” was considered, 57
Support and maintenance 40.48 Fair
percent of the employees marked “Very Good”, 32 percent marked

9
M. Shayganmehr, A. Kumar, J.A. Garza-Reyes et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 281 (2021) 125280

“Good” and 11 percent marked “Fair”. Finally, when “Recognizing As shown by Table 8, Technical Capability, Policy and regulation,
potential implications of Industry 4.0” was considered, 15 percent System flexibility and support and maintenance are in “Fair” con-
of the employees marked “Very Good”, 12 percent marked “Good”, dition as their readiness scores were computed as 35.66, 41.35,
29 percent marked “Fair” and 44 percent marked “Poor”, hence an 37.04 and 40.48 respectively. Two enablers Education and partici-
“Education and Participation” enablers matrix REducation was created pation and Security and safety were in “Good” status as their
as: readiness value was obtained as 66.78 and 55.86 respectively.

2 3
28 16 29 27 0
5. Results and discussion
REducation ¼ 4 0 11 32 57 05
44 29 12 15 0
In this paper, a novel framework for assessing the Industry 4.0
Then the evaluation result of Education and participation was enablers in the implementation and development of CP and CE in
calculated by: the context of ethical business development was proposed and
validated. The framework is comprised of 6 enablers and 27 sub-
enablers. The framework clarifies the preference of enablers and
BEducation ¼ WEducation  Reducation
2 3 sub-enablers by assigning them a weight between zero to one. The
0:28 0:16 0:29 0:27 0 final results of the framework after it was applied in Iranian textile
6 7
¼ ½0:26; 0:53; 0:21  4 0 0:11 0:32 0:57 05 manufacturing company are presented in Table 8.
0:44 0:29 0:12 0:15 0 The most significant enabler was determined to be “Technical
¼ ½0:16; 0:17; 0:27; 0:40; 0 Capability”. The enablers mostly concentrated on the application of
cutting-edge technologies in regards to the better implementation
Similarly, the result of the enablers was calculated and put into and development of CP and CE. The highly significant importance of
the evaluation matrices. Finally, the comprehensive overall evalu- these enablers is supported by Gmelin and Seuring (2014), Hong
ation matrix BOverall was calculated by: et al. (2019) and Katiyar et al. (2018). The most important sub-
B ¼ W  R ¼ ½0:23; 0:18; 0:13; 0:21; 0:16; 0:09  criterion was Infrastructure building, which is responsible for
2 Overall 3 providing an appropriate platform for facilitating further develop-
0:41 0:32 0:12 0:15 0
6 0:29 0:36 0:25 0:1 0 7 ment of potential technologies. Since the main aim of Industry 4.0 is
6 7
6 0:16 0:17 0:27 0:40 0 7 to provide a smart supply chain for the better implementation of CP
6 7
6 0:19 0:24 0:31 0:26 0 7 ¼ ½0:3; 0:28; 0:23; 0:17; 0 and CE, providing a smart supply chain was the second most
6 7
4 0:42 0:24 0:28 0:06 0 5 important sub-criterion. Additive manufacturing resulted to be the
0:29 0:39 0:24 0:08 0 third most important sub-enabler. Additive manufacturing accel-
The appraisal vector BOverall was deffuzified using equation (23): erates manufacturing processes by creating 3D objects. It has a
aOverall ¼ 43:45. The overall readiness score of Industry 4.0 enablers direct impact on the effective and efficient performance of opera-
in CP and CE implementation of the Iranian textile manufacturing tions and the faster implementation of CP and CE. Industry 4.0 in-
company studied was computed as 43.45, which is in “Fair” status. volves different technologies that can contribute to a better and
The rest of the readiness score of enablers were calculated in the faster implementation of CP and CE. The most important technol-
same manner. Such readiness scores are presented in Table 8 and ogies include IoT, Big Data, Block chain, Cloud Computing and
illustrated in Fig. 2. machine learning respectively. The least important sub-criterion

Fig. 2. The readiness score of enablers in the case study.

10
M. Shayganmehr, A. Kumar, J.A. Garza-Reyes et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 281 (2021) 125280

was Man-machine interaction. It intends to facilitate the interaction there is still a lack of information about some of its characteristics,
between humans and machines for better use of robots and sys- Education and participation are highly required to enhance em-
tems by users. ployee’s awareness and involvement (Seuring et al., 2019; Moktadir
The second most important enabler was Security and safety, et al., 2018). Top-level management is a significant factor for
which aims at providing secure infrastructure to exchange critical applying Industry 4.0 in CP and CE implementation and developing
data and avoid data leakage. Moreover, employer’s safety and pri- ethical principles. This sub-enabler mostly assesses the top man-
vacy were also taken into account as important factors. Providing a agement’s commitment and support to use Industry 4.0 technolo-
safe and secure platform to keep data privacy is the main dimen- gies in supply chain operations. Exposing employees to regular
sion of business ethics to clear the way for suppliers to behave training courses has a direct effect on increasing their knowledge
ethically in the business environment. Such practices increase trust about such a new phenomenon, which consequently causes them
and commitment among suppliers, which causes to leverage sus- to increase their participation. Moreover, effective training in-
tainability in SCM. The high importance of the enabler has been creases personal staff value to behave ethically through the entire
highlighted by Seuring et al. (2019), Pham et al. (2019) and Xu et al. supply chain. Consequently, this is likely to enhance sustainable
(2016); Yun et al. (2019); Mirghafoori et al. (2018). The most SCM (Yun et al., 2019). Recognizing the potential implication of
important sub-enabler was assuring staff and employers regarding Industry 4.0 enablers was the least important sub-enabler. This is
the security of Industry 4.0 technologies and systems. Such an issue seen as an important tool for motivating and informing employees
has a direct effect on accelerating and facilitating the development about the prospective benefits of Industry 4.0 utilization in the
and implementation of CP and CE and evolving ethical principles implementation of CE and CP.
for sustainable development. Assuring staff privacy by creating a The least important enabler was Support and maintenance. This
secure platform without any potential data leakage is critical for the enabler concentrates on the tracking of suppliers and stock. The
faster development of Industry 4.0 in SCM. One of the most high importance of such enabler has been discussed by Schwab
important Industry 4.0 responsibilities is leveraging the staff’s et al. (2019) and Seuring et al. (2019). The most important sub-
safety by using smart components in supply chains and operations. enabler was Operational efficiency, which assures managers that
This, however, was considered as the least important sub-criterion. supply chain processes are working efficiently and effectively. In-
Policy and regulation was the third most important enabler. The dustry 4.0 paves the way for collecting and analysing a huge
policy and regulation enabler is responsible for formulating and amount of data. Such refined collected data let managers make
deploying new legislation, e.g. budget allocation and passing new decisions more logically and precisely. One of the main targets of
rules for utilizing Industry 4.0 technology more effectively. Even Industry 4.0 technology is creating a smart factory, which compo-
from an ethical perspective, setting ethical policies and regulations nents work automatically to increase performance efficiency and
is one of the most important aspects of corporate social re- effectiveness. Such an issue facilitates the implementation of CP
sponsibility, which helps to increase business ethics to leverage and CE and creates more sustainable social business development.
sustainability in SCM. The high significance of this enabler has been Constant and regular tracking of stock and suppliers are the least
emphasised by Hong et al. (2019), Mani et al. (2018) and Stoycheva important sub-enabler.
et al. (2017); Yun et al. (2019). Since Industry 4.0 is seen as a new
phenomenon in the world of technology, setting an appropriate 6. Research implications
policy for better guidance of potential users is critical. Thus, this is
considered as the most important sub-enablers. Further develop- 6.1. Implications for theory
ment of Industry 4.0 enablers in the implementation of CP and CE
requires sufficient budget. This was listed as the second most The current study derives three main theoretical implications,
important sub-enabler. Making reward and incentive policy is a including:
great tool for motivating employers to pay more attention to such a
new phenomenon and creating sustainable ethical development.
Various studies have emphasised the importance of Industry 4.0
Encouraging suppliers to behave ethically in the business envi- enablers in facilitating the sustainable implementation of CE
ronment by providing incentives and prizes is highly required for and CP and their development (Devi et al., 2020; Rajput and
enhancing the entity’s reputation and sustainability in SCM. Con- Singh, 2019). However, these studies have considered limited
stant assessment contributes to evaluating the current status of aspects of Industry 4.0 enablers concerning the effective
Industry 4.0 enablers in the implementation of CP and CE and implementation of CP and CE in the context of an ethical society.
ethical societal sustainability. It resulted to be the least important Thus, such studies abstain from providing precise results and
sub-enabler. outcomes. The main theoretical implication of the present work
System flexibility was considered the fourth most important is the proposal of a framework that considers broader aspects of
enabler. It assesses the Industry 4.0 system’s flexibility to be inte- Industry 4.0 enablers embedded with CP and CE implementa-
grated with already operating systems. The high importance of this tion for sustainable ethical development. The framework con-
enabler has been highlighted by Rajput and Singh (2019) and Xu siders various enablers and sub-enablers aimed at providing a
et al. (2016). System integration was the most important sub- more exact and meticulous assessment compared to previous
enabler, which assesses the current system’s ability to be inte- studies.
grated with Industry 4.0 systems to provide a more comprehensive
The literature review denoted that previous studies mostly
system. Such system integration has a direct effect on the further introduced different efficient Industry 4.0 enablers for digita-
development and faster implementation of CP and CE. Providing an lizing CP and CE for reaching ethical sustainable societal
integrated system depends on applying flexible Industry 4.0 tech- development. There are no studies to recognize the importance
nologies. This is conducive to CP and CE implementation, which is and preference of enablers in the implementation of CP and CE
seen as the second most significant sub-criterion. The least in the context of ethical social responsibility. In this study, the
important sub-enabler was self-adaptability. This sub-enabler importance and preference of enablers were obtained and
evaluates the current system’s ability to adapt itself with Industry ranked by Multi Enablers Decision Making.
4.0 systems.
The study considered business ethics in the implementation of
As industry 4.0 technology is a new phenomenon and hence CP and CE. The significant importance of ethical behaviour and
11
M. Shayganmehr, A. Kumar, J.A. Garza-Reyes et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 281 (2021) 125280

corporate social responsibility was highlighted to achieving a providing a secure platform for data transactions. Observing
more sustainable SCM. Moreover, the study has denoted that information privacy is a critical social responsibility of policy-
constantly training staff and keeping their privacy lead to ethical makers and managers. Keeping information privacy is consid-
behaviour of suppliers, which helps to increase sustainability in ered as an ethical behaviour that leads to higher sustainability in
the entire supply chain. supply chains. Such behaviour helps policymakers to keep the

The proposed framework suggests that business ethics princi- reputation of corporations as an ethical image, which causes to
ples have to be considered for reaching long-lasting sustain- increase trust and commitment between supply chain actors
ability in supply chain practices along with the application of (Mirghafoori et al., 2018). They should integrate such cutting-
Industry 4.0 in CP and CE implementation. edge technologies with CP while evolving ethical principles of

Some Industry 4.0 enablers are subjective and contain a high corporate social accountability by observing privacy. Such an
level of uncertainty. Previous studies mostly used statistical issue would assure users that their confidential information is
methods to find any relevant association between Industry 4.0 not at risk of being abused. Symeonidis et al. (2019) proved that
enablers and the sustainable implementation of CP and CE. data protection and privacy are two important non-technical
Nevertheless, such research methodology cannot appropriately factors for the sustainable development of circular economy
model enablers’ ambiguity. Thus, Fuzzy sets theory was applied and sharing economy. This has been highlighted in other con-
to capture the enablers vagueness. texts in terms of Industry 4.0 integration with CE. For instance,
keeping the medical records of patients confidential was high-
lighted when IoT technologies were embedded with circular
6.2. Implications for practice economy for a better analysis of patients’ information
(Hatzivasilis et al., 2019). Moreover, CP includes improved
The present study has significant practical implications for workers’ health and safety (Fatorachian and Kazemi, 2018). The
business managers, including: application of Industry 4.0 makes a strong contribution to the
better monitoring of workers and staff aimed at avoiding po-

The paper highlights the important role of Industry 4.0 enablers tential danger. Business managers should enhance staff safety
for a better and faster implementation of CP and CE. This may by using smart technologies.
encourage industrial managers to consider Industry 4.0 enablers
Owing to the new concept of Industry 4.0 and lack of any
in their business decisions. The study opened up various aspects regulation and policy in supply chains operations, legislating
of Industry 4.0 enablers to enhance the sustainable imple- appropriate and suitable policy and regulations are managers’
mentation of CP and CE in the context of business ethics and accountability for providing a better framework to use Industry
supply chains performance and efficiency. The main Industry 4.0 4.0 enablers more effectively in the implementation of CP and
enablers were defined as 6 enablers that included technical CE. For instance, a study showed that policy and regulation
capability, policy and regulation, education and participation, played a crucial role in the better integration of Industry 4.0 and
security and safety, system flexibility and support and mainte- CE implementation in the context of glass recycling for more
nance. The most important element that managers should effective performance (Lin, 2018).
consider is the technical capability of their organizations, which
urges them to apply cutting-edge technologies including IoT, Big From a business ethics perspective, setting ethical policy and
Data, Blockchain and Machine learning to achieve a sustainable regulation is one of the main pillars of CSR and business ethics,
implementation of CP, CE and ethically sustainable business which has a direct and constructive impact on operational effi-
development. The integration of Industry 4.0 applications (such ciency and financial benefit. One of the main manager’s re-
as IoT, Big and Blockchain) in supply chains has a direct impact sponsibilities is setting up ethical and moral legislation.
on production efficiency and environmental management. In- Policymakers are highly expected to conduct regulations and
dustry 4.0 tools enable managers to easily fulfil more sustain- effective policy following ethical and social principles. This is seen
able production and consumption goals. For instance, the as an inseparable aspect of CSR to reach sustainability in SCM. For
application of Industry 4.0 technologies such as IoT and Big Data instance, China intended to legislate ethical standards as a gov-
Analytics in Indian organizations has brought a better perfor- ernment policy to create more sustainability in SCM (Yun et al.,
mance of supply chains and sustainable business development 2019).
(Singh et al., 2019). Moreover, the significant application of
Internet of Things (IoT) in enhancing circular economy was
Due to the absence of rich and publicized information regarding
proven in the food industry in the Netherlands (Ingemarsdotter Industry 4.0, it is the managers’ responsibility to expose staff
et al., 2020). The second most important factor that is expected and employees to such new phenomenon by holding different
to be considered by industrial managers is creating an appro- workshops and courses aimed at enhancing their awareness and
priate infrastructure to embed Industry 4.0 technologies. Since knowledge. Moreover, such action would lead to higher
Cleaner production is considered a business strategy (Hens et al., involvement of employees in applying Industry 4.0 in CE and CP
2018), providing a robust and strong infrastructure paves the implementation in the context of ethical sustainable business
way for policymakers and managers to accelerate the strategy development. Employee’s involvement in CP and CE imple-
aimed at improving better process monitoring and product or mentation is another ethical and social responsibility of man-
service design. For instance, Indian manufacturing firms deno- agers, which can be facilitated by Industry 4.0 applications and
ted that applying appropriate building infrastructure makes the tools. For instance, the significant role of education and training
supply chains and CE implementation more agile and sustain- for providing more sustainable supply chains development in
able when embedded with Industry 4.0 technologies (Rajput the context of Industry 4.0 technologies embedded with CE was
and Singh, 2019). highlighted by Ramakrishna et al. (2020).

Since a huge amount of information is created during supply
chain operations, including employees and company’s infor- Exposing staff to regular training activities is another main pillar
mation, keeping them confidential is the responsibility of of social responsibility, which informs employers with ethical
business managers to avoid any potential data leakage by behaviour within the business environment. Such practices can
12
M. Shayganmehr, A. Kumar, J.A. Garza-Reyes et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 281 (2021) 125280

have a direct effect on the entire supply chain to behave morally performance. Secondly, the proposed framework was deployed in
and ethically. Ethical practices are likely to bring more commitment an Iranian textile manufacturing company. Regional or inter-
and trust between suppliers. This can enhance sustainability within industry studies can therefore be conducted to validate such fac-
supply chains. For instance, regular training of staff made a strong tors and apply the proposed framework considering the influence
contribution to increasing personal staff value in SCM within the of specific regional and sectoral characteristics, e.g. policymaking,
Indian context, which led to behaving ethically and morally as well culture, industry sustainability maturity, etc. This would allow re-
as leveraging sustainability in the supply chain (Yun et al., 2019). searchers to obtain a clearer picture of the generality of such en-
ablers and contribute to the further validation of the proposed

Support and maintenance of CP and CE implementation is framework. Thirdly, the Interval-Valued Fuzzy Sets (IVFS)-AHP
another critical factor which can be facilitated by Industry 4.0 method was used to calculate the priority weights of enablers and
tools and applications. Providing constant support and main- sub-enablers. In this line, a comparative study can be conducted by
tenance by application of Industry 4.0 leads to sustainable using other multiple-criteria decision-making methods such as
process monitoring and the enhancement of production Best Worst Method, Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Labora-
efficiency. tory. This would allow future researches to understand more about
the comparative influencing weights of the enablers. Finally, the
7. Conclusions proposed framework demonstrated the importance of Industry 4.0
enablers in the adoption of CP and CE. However, there is no infor-
Many manufacturing businesses have experienced significant mation regarding the association and inter-relationship between
transformations and changes in their operational processes due to enablers. Thus, researchers can extend the present study by illus-
the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies. Thus, businesses are trating the inter-relationship between enablers through structural
considering Industry 4.0 technologies as a key influencing enabler techniques such as Structural Equitation Modelling, and Analytical
to achieve sustainability and support the implementation of Network Process methods.
Cleaner Production (CP) and Circular Economy (CE) practices to
enhance the quality of their products and services within the CRediT authorship contribution statement
context of ethical and sustainable business development. Industry
4.0 has shown to facilitate the implementation of CP and CE as well Masoud Shayganmehr: Ideas, Conceptualization, Writing -
as being a potent contributor to enhance sustainability through original draft. Anil Kumar: Formal analysis, Conceptualization,
business ethics. In this paper, a novel framework was proposed to Methodology, Analysis. Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes: Supervision,
illustrate the important role of Industry 4.0 enablers in the imple- Project administration, and Context Robustness. Md. Abdul Mok-
mentation of CP and CE within business ethics. Firstly, the most tadir: Ideas, Conceptualization, and Analysis.
important enablers were defined and validated through the Fuzzy
Delphi method. The validated enablers were categorized into 6 Declaration of competing interest
enablers that included “Technical Capability”, “Policy and Regula-
tion”, “Education and Participation”, “Security and Safety”, “System The authors declare that they have no known competing
Flexibility” and “Support and Maintenance”. The importance of the financial interests or personal relationships that could have
validated enablers was established through the IVFS AHP method. appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
The most important enablers were “Technical capability”, Security
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