Journal of Cleaner Production 377 (2022) 134327

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Journal of Cleaner Production

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

Scrutinizing state-of-the-art I4.0 technologies toward sustainable products

development under fuzzy environment
Hamed Gholami a, b, *, Ahmad Hashemi c, Jocelyn Ke Yin Lee a, Georges Abdul-Nour d,
Anas A. Salameh e
a
Department of Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru,
81310, Malaysia
b
Mines Saint-Etienne, Univ Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, UMR 6158 LIMOS, Institut Henri Fayol, 42023, Saint-Etienne, France
c
Department of Management and Accounting, University of Zanjan, University Blvd., 45371-38791 Zanjan, Iran
d
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Quebec in Trois-Rivieres, Trois- Rivieres, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada
e
Department of Management Information Systems, College of Business Administration, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, 165, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Handling Editor: Cecilia Maria Villas Bôas de To contribute to a growing global research interest that has evolved toward augmenting the economic, envi­
Almeida ronmental, and societal values of Industry 4.0 in the manufacturing context, this study is intended to (1) survey
the applicability of Industry 4.0 technologies in each of the triple bottom lines at the product level and (2)
Keywords: scrutinize the technologies based on product sustainability criteria using the application of the fuzzy Technique
Industry 4.0 technologies
for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution. Yet, there is a significant paucity of knowledge and
Sustainable manufacturing 4.0
uncertainty about the applicability of these technologies to developing sustainable products, hence providing an
Sustainable product indicators
Techno-sustainability assessment opportunity for innovative research. To be a sound assessment, this study investigates the perceptions of pro­
Fuzzy TOPSIS fessional technologists, who play an important role as both internal and external stakeholders in addressing
Automotive circular economy technological issues within organizations including multinationals. The findings obtained by the survey indicated
the applicability level of six major technologies in contributing to product-level sustainability. The findings
obtained by the fuzzy-based application revealed that ‘Big Data Analytics’ has the highest performance for
developing sustainable products. Such an assessment, which is of critical importance to sustainable development,
would be beneficial to policy-and decision-makers seeking to get a better understanding of the technologies and
their applicability to sustainable products development.

1. Introduction great opportunity to develop this sustainable paradigm.

Sustainable manufacturing, which has also been viewed as a practice
Since the advent of the fourth industrial wave, a growing global of the circularity in manufacturing under the circular economy concept
research interest has evolved toward augmenting the economic, envi­ (Jawahir and Bradley, 2016; Enyoghasi and Badurdeen, 2021), entails
ronmental, and societal values of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) through integrating developing more sustainable products—energy-efficient, eco-friendly,
its applicable technologies and intelligent techniques with the sustain­ and socially-responsible—using sustainable processes and systems, i.e.,
able manufacturing (SM) paradigm, which seeks to address sustain­ those which produce minimal adverse environmental effects, conserve
ability concerns in three interconnected compartments—products, energy and natural resources, are harmless to people and viable to profit
processes, and systems—using an innovation-based 6R concept (reduce, (Jayal et al., 2010; Gholami et al., 2019). This implies that there is al­
reuse, recover, redesign, remanufacture, and recycle) to enable closed- ways a need for developing SM compartments due to a number of pre­
loop material flow throughout the product life-cycle (Gholami et al., vailing issues such as the depletion of non-renewable resources, more
2021). Stock and Seliger (2016) were among the first to investigate SM stringent environmental and occupational health/safety regulations,
in Industry 4.0, claiming that I4.0 and its relevant technologies provide a and the growing penchant for environmentally-friendly products,

* Corresponding author. Department of Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi
Malaysia, Johor Bahru, 81310, Malaysia.
E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (H. Gholami).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134327
Received 30 May 2022; Received in revised form 7 September 2022; Accepted 20 September 2022
Available online 28 September 2022
0959-6526/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
H. Gholami et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 377 (2022) 134327

amongst many others (Jamil et al., 2020; Lee et al., 2021). et al., 2020; Enyoghasi and Badurdeen, 2021), and to provide particular
Given the work’s scope, this research concentrates on product-level insights through developing a more granular approach examining each
sustainability development. Sustainable products are those that benefit of the I4.0 technologies distinctly (Bai et al., 2020; Chiarini, 2021).
the environment, society, and economy—the so-called triple bottom line Moreover, it contributes empirically to addressing the questions posed
(TBL)—while safeguarding public health, well-being, and the environ­ by the scholars, i.e.: can I4.0 revolutionize the SM wave? (Jabbour et al.,
ment throughout their commercial life (Shuaib et al., 2014). Hence, the 2018); are all I4.0 technologies relevant for manufacturing sustain­
development of sustainable products must adopt a holistic approach that ability? (Chiarini, 2021); and how can I4.0 and the relevant technologies
takes into account the critical criteria of the TBL (Ahmad et al., 2018; contribute to SM (Sharma et al., 2020; Ching et al., 2021), particularly to
Hapuwatte and Jawahir, 2021). This requires having an all-inclusive the SM of less developed economies? (Ghobakhloo et al., 2021).
view from premanufacturing, manufacturing, and use through To showcase the research contribution, this article is structured as
post-use phases in the life-cycle to reach the optimum situation of follows: a literature review in Section 2 gives insight into certain fields;
near-perpetual circularity of material flow across the total product Section 3 explains the applied methods; Section 4 presents the detailed
life-cycle. Such a comprehensive approach often necessitates the use of analyses and findings on each objective; Section 5 elaborates a discus­
the 6R values (Jayal et al., 2010; Shuaib et al., 2014). This fuzzy con­ sion on the findings and implications; and, Section 6 presents conclu­
dition—a need for the product-level sustainability development, which sions and recommendations.
is a complex systems challenge that vastly relies on holistic and analytic
approaches—and the fact that I4.0 is dramatically receiving a great deal 2. Sustainable manufacturing 4.0
of attention from practitioners and researchers, thereby draws our
research questions: 2.1. An overview of industry 4.0

• What are the main relevant I4.0 technologies that could be applied Riding on the machines that changed the world, major revolutions
by manufacturers to develop sustainable products? have appeared in the industrial era (Fig. 1)—the first wave (I1.0)
• How and to what extent may such technologies contribute to sus­ evolved from initial steam engine-powered machines; the second wave
tainable products development? (I2.0) evolved from electric machines to develop mass production; the
third wave (I3.0) evolved in the 1970s from automatic machines to
Under such circumstances, I4.0 technologies may provide intriguing automate the production process using advanced electronics and infor­
possibilities for tackling the TBL issues of SM at the product level; mation technologies; and, the current wave (I4.0), which has evolved to
however, going through the literature reveals that only a handful of integrate smart machines with digital technologies to maximize indus­
research has empirically scrutinized I4.0 technologies to this end. For trial productivity (Gholami et al., 2021).
instance, Bai et al. (2020) have empirically demonstrated, from a gen­ Numerous countries have established their respective strategies to
eral outlook of sustainability, that autonomous robots may improve boost I4.0 acceptance and advancement, e.g., Germany, which origi­
industrial and organizational environmental sustainability aspects and nated the notion, has initiated a program dubbed “High-Tech Strategy
big data analytics can effectively address social sustainability concerns 2020” or the US, China, and Brazil that developed “Advanced
in the automotive industry. Manufacturing Partnership”, “Made in China (2025)”, and “Towards
Although anecdotal and theoretical studies have significantly Industry 4.0”, respectively (Dalenogare et al., 2018). Such strategies,
contributed to enriching the convergence of SM and I4.0, there are very either in developed or developing countries, are aimed at disseminating
few empirical and methodological investigations in this field (Machado I4.0 notions and technologies to businesses of all sizes. This means that
et al., 2020; Sartal et al., 2020; Ching et al., 2021; Enyoghasi and these countries have already matured in terms of the two I3.0 principles,
Badurdeen, 2021). To be more precise, there is no published empirical including automation and ICT (information and communication tech­
research on assessing the applicability of I4.0 technologies toward sus­ nologies) usage, that are now being developed in I4.0. Since I4.0 is
tainable products. According to Bai et al. (2020), practitioners need to mainly about the diffusion and adoption of technology, developing
know more about I4.0 technologies and their applicability to organiza­ countries may encounter challenges in the form of a sluggish
tional sustainability, particularly when making capital investment de­ diffusion-adoption process as it typically flows from leading countries
cisions. Further elicitation of this assessment might be beneficial to (Dalenogare et al., 2018; Bernat and Karabag, 2019). Yet, with the in­
policy-and decision-makers seeking to make policies on I4.0 (Lin vasion of I4.0 technologies and the resulting shockwaves across global
et al., 2017; Kamble et al., 2018) since the adoption of new technology, markets and rising green tendencies, such countries are experiencing
based on Garetti and Taisch (2012), may change the meaning of “what is problems (Letchumanan et al., 2022).
sustainable”. Yet, there is a considerable paucity of knowledge and un­ Thus, the value creation in leading countries is currently being
certainty in this area (Gholami et al., 2021), which provides an oppor­ shaped by I4.0, which is a current wave of industrialization seeking to
tunity for innovative research. As such, this research is being conducted develop cyber-physical systems (CPS) through an amalgamation be­
to answer the above-mentioned queries, which were fundamentally tween manufacturing operations systems and ICT, particularly the
formulated to further the research objectives, i.e., (1) to survey the Internet of Things (IoT) (Stock and Seliger, 2016; Dalenogare et al.,
applicability of state-of-the-art I4.0 technologies in each of the eco­ 2018). Following the initial three industrial revolutions, I4.0 possesses
nomic, environmental, and social aspects at the product level, and (2) to great potential to significantly improve industrial productivity via pro­
scrutinize the technologies based on product sustainability criteria. In found changes in the interrelatedness of systems. A CPS integrates in­
doing so, the application of the Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference formation technology with the operational technologies of the physical
by Similarity to Ideal Solution (FTOPSIS), which has been a fuzzy system. Meanwhile, the IoT refers to an ecosystem of technologies that
modification of TOPSIS intended to remedy its deficiencies in handling screens the physical objects’ status, captures significant data, and
ambiguity and uncertainty, is further utilized since it is sound logic and communicates that data to the software applications through the
capable of distinguishing between cost and benefit criteria and simul­ established networks (Blunck and Werthmann, 2017). In I4.0, the CPS
taneously taking solutions that are close to the positive ideal solutions elements are essentially linked by IoT. Other enabling technologies,
and far from the anti-ideal solutions. which have mainly been deployed in I4.0, according to Rüßmann et al.
The contribution of this paper also entails responding to calls in the (2015), Wee et al. (2015), Machado et al. (2020), Sartal et al. (2020),
literature to integrate SM and I4.0 as a subject of research (Stock and Enyoghasi and Badurdeen (2021), Gholami et al. (2021), among others,
Seliger, 2016; Gholami et al., 2021), to extend the scrutiny through are further described in Table 1. The extant literature indicates that
empirical studies based on sustainable performance indicators (Sartal developing and integrating I4.0 and its enabling technologies with

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H. Gholami et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 377 (2022) 134327

Fig. 1. SM 4.0: An effective convergence of current waves.

sustainable paradigms would benefit both industry and society (e.g., 2014). In general, this development has been traced by clustering,
Ghobakhloo, 2018; Ghobakhloo et al., 2021; Ajwani-Ramchandani assessing, and improving the interacting indicators (Shuaib et al., 2014);
et al., 2021; Beltrami et al., 2021). In the context of manufacturing, it among the different influencing indicators, eleven indications have been
gives the opportunity to move toward developing more sustainable taken into account in a major way, as shown in Fig. 2b. These criteria (i.
manufacturing (Stock and Seliger, 2016; Sharma et al., 2020; Ching e., C1–C11), which, in addition to the TBL, expressly consider the 6Rs
et al., 2021). and the entire product life-cycle (Shuaib et al., 2014; Enyoghasi and
Badurdeen, 2021), are characteristics or variables indicating the
2.2. An overview of sustainable manufacturing in industry 4.0 behavior (performance indicator) or state (content indicator) of a
structure and necessitate the use of a metric to make a comparison to a
Due to the sustainable development (SD) philosophy, as popularized baseline or a sustainable outcome.
by the Brundtland report as “Our Common Future (WCED, 1987)”, Nonetheless, very little study has been conducted on analyzing the
manufacturing has also had typical revolutions (Fig. 1)—the first wave applicability of I4.0 technologies to the development of sustainable
evolved through developing traditional substitution-based products. One of the most thorough is the work of Enyoghasi and
manufacturing; the second wave evolved through developing lean Badurdeen (2021), who presented a comparative analysis investigating
manufacturing to reduce waste and create value; the third wave evolved major I4.0 technologies and their influence on SM at all levels and
in the 1990s with the 3R concept (reduce, reuse, and recycle) to develop highlighted that more in-depth studies, including case studies, are
green manufacturing; and, the current wave, i.e., SM, which has evolved required to ascertain this applicability for improving product-level
to develop sustainability into three interconnected compartments—­ sustainability using the I4.0 technologies, as described in Table 1.
products, processes, and systems—using an innovation-based 6R Further, a qualitative analysis was presented by Bibaud-Alves et al.
concept (3Rs, redesign, remanufacture, and recycle) to enable (2018) to evaluate the applicability of I4.0 technologies for the devel­
closed-loop material flow throughout the product life-cycle (Gholami opment of new products. The opportunities provided by I4.0 for the
et al., 2021). product development process were also assessed by Santos et al. (2017),
It is believed that I4.0 technologies possess the potential to benefit all who found that the phases of product development most closely asso­
17 SD Goals, the circular economy (Bai et al., 2020), and SM at all ciated with I4.0 were customer requirement analyses (Requirement) and
product, process, and system levels (Stock and Seliger, 2016; Enyoghasi product model creation (Design). Through the broad lens of sustain­
and Badurdeen, 2021). To this end, a global research trend has appeared ability, SM in I4.0 has also been studied in a number of theoretical and
toward enlarging the area of SM 4.0 (Fig. 1). To illustrate this, Fig. 2a empirical research. According to a review of the literature by Machado
provides a visual depiction of how I4.0 technologies are deployed to et al. (2020), I4.0 offers superior possibilities for some of the 6Rs values
develop sustainability criteria in products, processes, and systems based at the product level, including product remanufacture, reuse, and
on an innovation-based 6R approach. The 6R implementation leads to recycling; however, contrary to the investigates considering I4.0 as an
reaching the near-perpetual circularity of material flow across the total expected enabler toward developing SM, this review rather views SM as
product life-cycle (Jawahir and Bradley, 2016). In general, it is revealed an enabler for I4.0. With the use of a few I4.0 technologies, Jena et al.
that the incorporation of I4.0 technologies and principles to evaluate (2020) suggested and assessed an SM model, providing an approach for
and advance SM enables developing the sustainability values of I4.0 minimizing industrial wastage and optimizing resource usage. In an
(Stock and Seliger, 2016; Sartal et al., 2020; Enyoghasi and Badurdeen, empirical manner, Bai et al. (2020) developed a hybrid multi-situation
2021). The aforementioned research trend is expected to intensely decision technique to appraise I4.0 technologies based on their sus­
continue owing to its unique intellectual contribution to SD; however, tainable performance and application across different contexts and
since the Earth Summit (UN, 1993), it has widely become understood urged that each technology must thoroughly be studied, since distinct
that being sustainable is preferable. technology will have varying effects on industry and sustainability ele­
There were many significant efforts to develop sustainability at the ments. Chiarini (2021) employed a qualitative-quantitative method to
product level. Some primary studies have revealed the indicators analyze the relevance of I4.0 technologies in improving
affecting sustainable product development (Jawahir et al., 2006; De environmentally-sustainable manufacturing performance. In summary,
Silva et al., 2009; Jayal et al., 2010; Haapala et al., 2013; Shuaib et al., the literature demonstrates an increasing interest in identifying and

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H. Gholami et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 377 (2022) 134327

Table 1 assessing potential opportunities for SM using I4.0 technologies; how­

Major I4.0 technologies. ever, it lacks the studies considering expressly the 6Rs and the entire
Technology Description Code product life-cycle in addition to the TBL. Moreover, none of the research
explores and evaluates the benefits provided by I4.0 technologies for
Big Data Analytics It refers to massive and complicated sets of data T1
and analytical approaches in applications that product-level sustainability development based on product sustainabil­
necessitate the adoption of sophisticated and ity criteria, as discussed and depicted in Fig. 2a and b.
distinctive technologies for archiving, As evidenced by the literature, BDA competencies may improve real-
managing, analyzing, and visualizing (Chen time monitoring of products, and, as a result, lower the cost of EoL
et al., 2012; Awan et al., 2021). It can enable
practitioners to add original value to a variety
component processing, allowing for optimal product lifecycle optimi­
of products and systems (Wang et al., 2021). zation (Song and Moon, 2017; Rajput and Singh, 2019; Nascimento
Augmented/Virtual It refers to the use of cutting-edge technologies T2 et al., 2019). Using augmented/virtual reality to observe products in real
Reality to create more immersive human-digital time may improve product lifecycle data gathering, fault identification,
interactions that allow users to interact with
and meet product compliance requirements (Tao et al., 2018; Carvalho
virtual images while maintaining their ability
to see the real world around them (Xiong et al., et al., 2020). Numerous studies have documented the advantages of
2021). With the aid of digital augmentation, employing AM technology in general. In product-level sustainability, it
operators can visualize actual processes is contended by Stock and Seliger (2016), Kamble et al. (2018), and
(Chiarini, 2021), prevent potentially hazardous Nascimento et al. (2019) that AM enables shorter lead times for prod­
situations, make better decisions and/or carry
out tasks following standard practice
ucts, increases capabilities for producing sustainable products, and re­
(Laskurain-Iturbe et al., 2021). duces the requirement for product and component assembly and thus for
Simulation/ It refers to computer-based technologies that T3 customizing complicated product designs. From the point of view of
Optimization simulate a real-world procedure or system (Bai Wang et al. (2016) and Frank et al. (2019), the IIoT provides users with
et al., 2020). Virtual testing and optimization of
information about the product’s status quo. It can identify non­
machine parameters for the following output in
line before the physical changeover reduces conformities in the design and quality of the product (Tao et al., 2018).
machine setup duration and improves quality The opportunities offered via such technologies to SM have also been
(Rüßmann et al., 2015; Ghobakhloo, 2018). uncovered by Sartal et al. (2020), who underlined the lack of
Additive Manufacturing It refers to an additive or layered T4 cutting-edge research on (1) examining the applicability of I4.0 tech­
manufacturing process that creates solid three-
nologies to SM and (2) developing performance indicators since there
dimensional (3D) objects from a digital file, also
recognized as 3D printing (Bai et al., 2020; has been no consensus among researchers as such. Thus, novel avenues
Chiarini, 2021). New product development can of investigation must be pursued in this understudied area, particularly
be simplified and expedited with the creation of empirical studies offering systematic approaches to assess the applica­
prototypes and proof-of-concept designs using
bility of I4.0 technologies toward sustainable products development in
this technology (Gilchrist, 2016).
Cloud It refers to any IT services that are provided and T5 various industries (Stock and Seliger, 2016; Enyoghasi and Badurdeen,
accessible through a cloud computing platform 2021). Notably, no one has sought such a technological assessment in
(Bai et al., 2020). The recent enhancements in contributing to product-level sustainability. Using a methodological
hardware, virtualization technology, approach, as detailed in the following section, the contribution of this
concurrent computing, and internet service
investigation accordingly entails enriching this area.
delivery have led to the development of this
technology (Oliveira et al., 2014), which
provides a collaborative and adaptable 3. Research methodology
infrastructure over widely distributed
production and service locations, enabling the
3.1. Survey
integration of dispersed manufacturing
resources (He and Xu, 2015).
Industrial Internet of It refers to various hardware components that T6 The first objective of this investigation is to survey the applicability
Things collaborate via the internet of things of state-of-the-art I4.0 technologies in each of the economic, environ­
connectivity to improve manufacturing and mental, and social aspects at the product level. Based on the literature
industrial procedures (Bai et al., 2020; Chiarini,
2021). Manufacturers can increase
and viewpoints of the project’s panel, a list of major I4.0 technologies
productivity, lower labor costs, decrease energy was developed (see Table 1) to do the survey, which is being used (oc­
usage, and speed up the build-to-order cycle of casionally in tandem with other techniques) to study phenomena in the
a product (Boyes et al., 2018). emergent (sub)fields. The rationale is to bridge the gap between theory
Cybersecurity It refers to preventative measures employed to T7
and practice, make research more practical for practitioners, and, more
guard against the theft, compromise, or attack
of information (Bai et al., 2020; importantly, improve the field’s scholarly standing (Forza, 2002).
Laskurain-Iturbe et al., 2021). Systems, After developing the technological list, a questionnaire is developed
applications, and networks’ security are all based on Forza (2002) to do the survey. A six-point Likert scale was
safeguarded from potential cyberattacks with accordingly applied; where the values 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 indicate ‘not
this technology (Dixit and Silakari, 2021).
Autonomous Robots It refers to robots that are able to operate T8
applicable’, ‘very low’, ‘low’, ‘moderate’, ‘high’, and ‘very high’,
autonomously and imitate human behavior in respectively. There were four sections in the questionnaire. The first
the manufacturing process (Bai et al., 2020; section comprised questions about the respondents’ backgrounds. The
Sartal et al., 2020). It allows for a high degree of following sections were accordingly designed to assess the applicability
job similarity between humans and robots and
of identified I4.0 technologies in each of the sustainability aspects at the
is fundamentally safe (Franklin et al., 2020;
Chiarini, 2021). product level. Applicability level displays if they can be utilized or
Horizontal/Vertical It refers to the process of integrating several T9 applied in practice in the understudied context.
System Integration sub-systems into a single system to execute the Six experts from academia (50%) and industry (50%), who are
designed performance (Ghobakhloo, 2018). It is certified Professional Technologists (P.Tech.) and knowledgeable about
based on both horizontally integrated value
chains, and vertically integrated systems of
sustainable products, were asked to undertake content validation to
manufacturing, management, and business assure that the contents were accurate and would meet the planned
(Rüßmann et al., 2015; Sartal et al., 2020). objectives. The questionnaire was revised in response to their com­
ments. Following a minor revision, the questionnaire was resent to the

4
H. Gholami et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 377 (2022) 134327

Fig. 2a. A perspective of I4.0-enabled sustainable manufacturing toward a more sustainable-based state.

Fig. 2b. Major criteria affecting sustainable product development.

same experts, who all expressed agreement. applicability in each of the economic, environmental, and social aspects
After the questionnaire was developed, it was distributed to 200 at the product level. The results are subsequently discussed in the rele­
professional technologists who were considered as potential experts to vant section.
take part in the survey. All answers were collected within 41 days of the
commencement date. A total of 93 out of the 200 questionnaires had
3.2. FTOPSIS
been completed, yielding a response rate of 46.5%, which is considered
appropriate (Rezaei et al., 2017; Abu et al., 2019). A reliability test is
To further scrutinize the technologies based on product sustainabil­
conducted following the collection of the data set in order to determine
ity criteria, the Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to
if the instrument and the acquired data are reliable enough to be used for
Ideal Solution (FTOPSIS) was found to be appropriate. It is a fuzzy
further investigation. Based on the literature, the Cronbach coefficient
refinement of TOPSIS designed to address the shortcomings of TOPSIS
alpha (Cronbach, 1951) is the most extensively adopted approach in
when dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty. In this study, FTOPSIS is
survey research, testing the internal reliability of indicators used on a
employed since it distinguishes cost criteria (the lower the value, the
certain scale (Forza, 2002). Finally, an average mean value is used and
more applicable the technology) and benefit criteria (the higher the
measured for each of the I4.0 technologies to demonstrate their level of
value, the more applicable the technology) and simultaneously takes

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H. Gholami et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 377 (2022) 134327

solutions that are close to the positive ideal solutions and far from the membership function FRc (x). The aggregated fuzzy rating will accord­
negative ideal solutions. This technique is explained and applied as ingly be:
follows.
R = (x, y, z)c = 1, 2, 3, ...., C (7)
3.2.1. Fuzzy sets and numbers ∑c
Where x = minc {xc }, y = 1/c c=1 bc , and z = maxc {zc }
Under many circumstances, precise data is inadequate to model real-
life environments since individual preferences and decisions have often
3.2.2. Fuzzy TOPSIS
been uncertain and cannot be estimated by precise numerical values
This technique, which was initially presented by Hwang and &Yoon
(Shen et al., 2013). The fuzzy set theory familiarized by Zadeh (1965) is
(1981), is based on the notion that the selected alternative should have
beneficial for dealing with such uncertainties in the decision-making
the shortest geometric distance from the best solution, called a “positive
process, permitting membership in a partial set instead of a crisp set.
ideal solution (PIS)”, and the longest geometric distance from the worst
Bellman and Zadeh (1970) pioneered the use of fuzzy sets to study
solution, called a “negative ideal solution (NIS)”, for solving an MCDM
decision-making problems and developed the fuzzy multi-criteria deci­
problem (Chen et al., 2006; Shen et al., 2013). In comparison with AHP
sion-making (MCDM) approach. A fuzzy set is determined using a
and ANP, the two most often applied approaches for analyzing and
membership function – see equation 1 – which has graphically been
prioritizing, TOPSIS is less sophisticated and time-consuming and also
illustrated in Fig. 3. fB (s)denotes a fuzzy subset B in S conceding that S is
avoids using extra pair-wise comparisons (Ertugrul and Karakasoglu,
a set of items and its components are represented by s through a real
2008; Shen et al., 2013; Hashemi et al., 2020).
number ranging from 0 to 1. This study has thus applied a set of trian­
Since it is required to use linguistic values to indicate judgements
gular fuzzy numbers to gauge the preferences since its application is
that cannot be articulated numerically and many of the choice criteria in
convenient for the decision makers. A triangular fuzzy number is
the issues are difficult to be quantified by the TOPSIS technique
denoted as (x, y, z), where x ≤ y ≤ z. The smallest possible, the most
(Koyuncu et al., 2021; Nara et al., 2021), the FTOPSIS method is applied
probable, and the largest possible values are presented by x, y, and z,
in this study. The numerical and verbal expressions, as well as the
respectively.
capability to assess and decide collectively, are all provided by FTOPSIS
⎧
⎪ (Calık, 2021; Koyuncu et al., 2021), where weighting criteria and
⎨ s− x s < x,s < z,x≤s≤y
fB (s) = y−z− sx y≤s≤z (1) grading alternatives are evaluated using linguistic variables expressed
⎪
⎩ z− y by fuzzy values (Guo et al., 2018; Kumar et al., 2021). It simultaneously
takes into account the distances to PIS and NIS by expressing “relative
Here are some fundamental definitions of fuzzy notions utilized in closeness to ideal solution” in a fuzzy environment. Thus, the ideal so­
the FTOPSIS method proposed by Zadeh (1965, 1976). Concede B = (x, lution is obtained according to its closeness to the PIS and farness from
y, z) and D = (x1, y1, z1) as two triangular fuzzy numbers. This is how the NIS under uncertainty. FTOPSIS encapsulates the process of the
triangular fuzzy numbers are described in practice: implementation in some simple, logical, and common sense-based steps
(Hwang and &Yoon, 1981; Chen et al., 2006; Shen et al., 2013), as
B( + )D = (x, y, z)( + )(x1 , y1 , z1 ) = (x + x1 , y + y1 , z + z1 ) (2)
follows.
B( − )D = (x, y, z)( − )(x1 , y1 , z1 ) = (x − x1 , y − y1 , z − z1 ) (3) Step 1. The normalized fuzzy-decision matrix is:
[ ]
CB = (cx, cy, cz) (4) R = rij m.n
( )
1 1 1 Where B and C are the benefit and cost criterion sets, respectively, and
(B)− 1 = , , (5) ( )
x y z xij yij zij
rij = , , ,j ∈ B (8)
The following equation is to compute the distance between fuzzy zj zj zj
numbers B and D:
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ zj = maxi zij , j ∈ B
[
1
d(B, D) = (x − x1 )2 + (y − y1 )2 + (z − z1 )2 (6) ( )
3 x−j x−j x−j
rij = , , (9)
zij yij zj xij
Concede that a decision set includes C decision-makers, and the fuzzy
rating of each decision-maker Dc (c = 1, 2, …, C) is used to denote a
x−j = mini xij , j ∈ C
positive triangular fuzzy number Rc (c = 1, 2, …, C) with the

Step 2. Weighted normalized decision matrix vij is computed by

multiplying the normalized matrix with the weights of the criteria:
[ ]
V = vij mn, i = 1, 2, ...., m; j = 1, 2, ....., n (10)

̽
where vij = rij.wj and wj has been the weight of the jth attribute or cri­
terion.
Step 3. Both positive-ideal solution (PIS, B*) and negative-ideal solu­
tion (NIS, B− ) are calculated:
( )
B∗ = v∗1 , v∗2 , ..., v∗n (11)
( )
B− = v−1 , v−2 , ..., v−n (12)

Fig. 3. A membership function indicating triangular fuzzy number B. where v∗j = maxi {vijb} and v−j = mini{vijb}, i = 1,2,. . .,m, j = 1,2,. . .,n.

6
H. Gholami et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 377 (2022) 134327

Step 4. Distance of each alternative from PIS and NIS is calculated: Table 2
( ) The respondents’ demographic profile.
∑
n
di∗ = dv vij , v∗j , i = 1, 2, ......, m (13) Demographics Respondents (P.Tech) (n = 93) Experts (P.Tech) (n = 3)
j=1
Frequency (%) Frequency (%)
∑
n ( ) Gender
di− = dv vij , v−j , i = 1, 2, ......, m (14) Male 49 52.7 2 0.67
j=1 Female 44 47.3 1 0.33
Age
Below 25 – – – –
26-35 21 22.6 – –
Step 5. The closeness coefficient (CCi) of each alternative is calculated 36-45 59 63.4 – –
as: Above 46 13 14.0 3 100
Nationality
di− Local 93 100 3 100
CCi = i = 1, 2, ......, m (15)
di− + di∗ Non-local – – – –
Current level of study
Bachelor 16 17.2 – –
Master 19 20.4 1 0.33
Step 6. At the end of the process, the alternatives are ranked according PhD 58 62.4 2 0.67
Other
to their CCi values. Alternative Bi is closer to the FPIS (B*) and farther
– – – –
Current position
from the FNIS (B− ) as CC1 approaches to 1. In other words, the Academic 52 55.9 – –
understudied alternatives are orderly ranked as per the descending order Industry 41 44.1 3 100
of CC1. Years of experience in current position
Less than 3 years – – – –
3–5 years – – – –
4. Case study: analyses and findings 5–10 years 51 54.8 – –
More than 10 years 42 45.2 3 100
4.1. Results from the survey Years of P.Tech experience
Less than 3 years 12 12.9 – –
3–5 years 19 20.4
Over recent decades, there have been obligations on automotive
– –
5–10 years 39 42.0 – –
manufacturing industries to vigorously improve their sustainable per­ More than 10 years 23 24.7 3 100
formance since they harm the environment and society through their
unsustainable products and protocols. Thus, the shift to sustainable auto
manufacturing is being urged to counter such harm. As mentioned by technologists.
Shen et al. (2013), automotive manufacturers must reduce their envi­ As mentioned in Section 3.1, the participants were tasked with
ronmental consequences and increase their ecological efficiency assessing the applicability of identified I4.0 technologies in each of the
through the implementation of environmental initiatives at all stages of economic, environmental, and social aspects, so as to find out whether
manufacturing. Although the initiative of sustainability in the automo­ they could be applied or used in practice in the understudied context. In
tive industry is gaining traction and scientific attention, according to doing so, we used an average mean value. Table 3 presents the mean
Wellbrock et al. (2020), it is still quite nebulous and needs further values of the most applicable technologies on their corresponding sus­
concretization. In this context, there is also a major criticism about why tainability aspects at the product level. The findings of the reliability test
the concentration is mostly on the ecological aspect (Nunes and Benett, using Cronbach alpha indicated that the data are reliable enough to be
2010). In Malaysia, the National Automotive Policy (NAP) was initially used since the alpha values exceed the recommended value of 0.60
presented as part of the Third Industrial Masterplan (IMP3) in 2006, to (Forza, 2002), as shown in Table 3.
shift the automotive industry to a more sustainable-based state. Riding Though the research in this paper is based on nine I4.0 technologies,
on this industry as one of the Malaysian major economic contributors, as described in Table 1, the findings shown in Table 3 reveal that only six
the NAP has evolved over the years; in 2009, it released the 2nd version of them have meaningfully been applicable in the context. The appli­
of the policy to improve the domestic automotive industrial capabilities cability level of the remaining technologies – cybersecurity (ranging
and create a further favorable investment landscape; in 2014, it released from 0 to 1), horizontal and vertical system integration (ranging from
the 3rd version, dubbed “NAP 2014”, which concentrates on strength­ 0 to 2), and autonomous robots (ranging from 0 to 1) – were found to be
ening green initiatives and the entire automotive ecosystem through unacceptable.
advancing technological, human capital, and supply chain aspects, so as
to place Malaysia as a regional center for Energy Efficient Vehicles; in
4.2. Results from the FTOPSIS
2020, it released the NAP 2020 to develop the automotive industry in
the fourth industrial age, enabling Malaysia to attain Connected
Following the findings obtained by the survey, this section presents
Mobility by 2030. Since the NAP was established, the industry has un­
dergone substantial improvements; however, with the new technolog­
ical invasion and shockwaves caused throughout the universal market, Table 3
The means and alpha values of the most applicable technologies at the product
as well as emerging green/sustainable tendencies, the Malaysian auto­
level.
motive industry is expected to have difficulties from 2020 onwards
(NAP, 2020). Tech. Means values Reliability test
(alpha values)
This project has been an attempt to this end, exploring the percep­ Economic Environmental Social
tions of professional technologists (P.Tech), as one of the key stake­ aspect aspect aspect
holders of the NAP, for assessing I4.0 technologies toward developing T1 4.15 4.37 3.92 0.889
auto manufacturing sustainability. Thus, this section presents the find­ T2 3.75 3.07 4.16 0.873
ings from the Professional Technologists’ perspective on Malaysia’s T3 3.82 3.11 3.95 0.722
T4 3.90 4.02 3.07 0.854
automotive industry in the I4.0 era. Table 2 demonstrates the de­
T5 3.19 3.03 3.97 0.772
mographic profile of respondents including 93 professional T6 4.14 3.30 3.96 0.856

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H. Gholami et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 377 (2022) 134327

the application of fuzzy TOPSIS to further analyze and prioritize the Table 4
identified technologies based on product sustainability criteria, as Criteria for evaluating most applicable I4.0 technologies.
demonstrated in Fig. 2b. Fig. 4 shows the hierarchical structure of the Code Criteria Aspects Desired level
developed fuzzy TOPSIS model with 3 aspects, 11 main criteria, and 6
C1 Initial Investment Economy Minimum
most applicable technologies. This appraisal approach consists of three C2 Direct/Indirect Costs Economy Minimum
stages: selecting evaluation indicators, assessing and ranking technolo­ C3 Losses Economy Minimum
gies based on developed criteria, and completing a sensitivity analysis C4 Material Use Environment Minimum
on the decision made. C5 Energy Use Environment Minimum
C6 Waste and Emissions Environment Minimum
To incorporate sustainability into products, primary studies identi­ C7 Product end-of-life Management Environment Maximum
fied eleven interacting criteria, among others, as discussed in Section 2.2 efficiency
(see Fig. 2b). Hence, these eleven criteria were selected within three C8 Product Quality and Durability Society Maximum
divisions of the economy, environment, and society to further evaluate C9 Functional Performance Society Maximum
C10 Safety & Health impact Society Maximum
the six most applicable technologies (see Table 3). Table 4 presents the
C11 Regulations and Certifications Society Maximum
identified criteria in each aspect, also indicating the desired level of each effectiveness
indicator, i.e., cost criteria (the lower the value, the more applicable the
technology) and benefit criteria (the higher the value, the more appli­
cable the technology).
Table 5
The next stage is to create the fuzzy decision matrix to assess the
Linguistic variables applied.
technologies with respect to each criterion. To this end, the three major
Linguistic variables for weighing criteria Linguistic rating variables
decision makers (DM1, DM2, and DM3), who are certified professional
importance
technologists with more than 10 years’ managerial experience in the
automotive manufacturing industry, were tasked with expressing their Variables Fuzzy set Variables Fuzzy set

views on the applicability of each technology for each criterion using the Very low VL (0,0,0.1) Very poor VP (0,0,1)
scale given in Table 5, which indicates the linguistic variables employed Low L (0,0.1,0.3) Poor P (0,1,3)
Medium low ML (0.1,0.3,0.5) Medium poor MP (1,3,5)
in this study. The demographic profile of DMs/experts is shown in
Medium M (0.3,0.5,0.7) Medium M (3,5,7)
Table 2. Medium high MH (0.5,0.7,0.9) Medium good MG (5,7,9)
The experts were requested to assign a score to the criteria for High H (0.7,0.9,1) Good G (7,9,10)
evaluating their importance weights and also to rate technologies based Very high VH (0.9,1,1) Very good VG (9,10,10)
on them. A seven-point Likert scale instrument was applied in order to
obtain the data, as seen in Table 5, where the linguistic rating variables
T3.
varied from ‘very poor’ to ‘very good’ and the linguistic variables for
weighing criteria importance ranged from ‘very low’ to ‘very high’.
4.2.1. Sensitivity analysis
Tables 6 and 7 show the weighing and rating of criteria and technologies
Sensitivity analysis is regarded as the hermeneutics of mathematical
assessed by decision makers, respectively. The fuzzy-decision matrix
modeling (Saltelli et al., 2021). Simply, it refers to a process in which
normalized and weighted, the distance of technologies from positive and
one or more variables in an issue are altered to gauge their impacts on
negative ideal solutions, and the closeness coefficient of technologies
some outcome or quantity of interest, e.g., the evaluation of the efficacy
have respectively been presented in Tables 8–10.
of a decision alternative in a policy-making issue, the effect of an issue
In general, the outcome of fuzzy TOPSIS analyses is finalized in
restriction on optimizing a cost or benefit function through shadow
Table 10, revealing that Technology 1 (T1) is the topmost applicable
pricing, or a model parameter’s role and function in creating a model
technology with CCi = 0.349 while Technology 3 (T3) with CCi = 0.183
output (Razavi et al., 2021). In such analyses, which are simple, intui­
has been the lowest applicable technology for product-level sustain­
tive, and suitable for a specific set of conditions, the sensitivity of the
ability development. According to the CCi (closeness coefficient) values,
issue is only calculated around a nominal point in the issue area.
the ranking order of the six technologies is: T1 > T2 > T4 > T6 > T5 >

Fig. 4. Hierarchical structure of the appraisal approach.

8
H. Gholami et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 377 (2022) 134327

Table 6
Criteria importance and aggregate fuzzy weights.
Criteria DMs’ linguistic assessment Fuzzy weights of criteria Fuzzy weights aggregated

DM1 DM2 DM3 DM1 DM2 DM3

C1 H VH VH (0.7,0.9,1) (0.9,1,1) (0.9,1,1) (0.83,0.96,1)

C2 H VH VH (0.7,0.9,1) (0.9,1,1) (0.9,1,1) (0.83,0.96,1)
C3 VH H VH (0.9,1,1) (0.7,0.9,1) (0.9,1,1) (0.83,0.96,1)
C4 VH H VH (0.9,1,1) (0.7,0.9,1) (0.9,1,1) (0.83,0.96,1)
C5 MH MH H (0.5,0.7,0.9) (0.5,0.7,0.9) (0.7,0.9,1) (0.56,0.76,0.93)
C6 H H VH (0.7,0.9,1) (0.7,0.9,1) (0.9,1,1) (0.76,0.93,1)
C7 H H VH (0.7,0.9,1) (0.7,0.9,1) (0.9,1,1) (0.76,0.93,1)
C8 VH H VH (0.9,1,1) (0.7,0.9,1) (0.9,1,1) (0.83,0.96,1)
C9 VH H VH (0.9,1,1) (0.7,0.9,1) (0.9,1,1) (0.83,0.96,1)
C10 H MH H (0.7,0.9,1) (0.5,0.7,0.9) (0.7,0.9,1) (0.63,0.83,0.96)
C11 H MH H (0.7,0.9,1) (0.5,0.7,0.9) (0.7,0.9,1) (0.63,0.83,0.96)

Table 7
Technological evaluation and aggregate.
Criteria Technology 1 (T1) Technology 2 (T2) Technology 3 (T3)
DM1 DM 2 DM3 Aggregate DM1 DM 2 DM3 Aggregate DM1 DM2 DM3 Aggregate
C1 M MP M (2.33, 4.33, 6.33) G M MG (5,7,8.66) G G G (7,9,10)
C2 MP P P (0.33,1.66,3.66) M MP M (2.33,4.33,6.33) G G MG (6.33,8.33,9.66)
C3 MP P MP (0.66, 2.33, 4.33) MG MG MG (5,7,9) G MG G (6.33,8.33,9.66)
C4 M M MG (3.66, 5.66, 7.66) M M MG (3.66,5.66,7.66) G MG G (6.33,8.33,9.66)
C5 M M MG (3.66, 5.66, 7.66) MG MG M (4.33,6.33,8.33) G G G (7,9,10)
C6 P MP P (0.33,1.66,3.66) M M M (3, 5, 7) G MG MG (5.66, 7.66, 9.33)
C7 VG VG VG (9,10,10) M M M (3,5,7) P MP P (0.33,1.66,3.66)
C8 MG M MG (4.33,6.33,8.33) G G G (7,9,10) P MP P (0.33,1.66,3.66)
C9 MG M M (3.66, 5.66, 7.66) G G G (7,9,10) VG VG VG (9,10,10)
C10 MP MP MP (1,3,5) G G G (7,9,10) P MP MP (0.66, 2.33, 4.33)
C11 P P MP (0.33,1.66,3.66) G G G (7,9,10) MP MP P (0.66, 2.33, 4.33)

Criteria Technology 4 (T4) Technology 5 (T5) Technology 6 (T6)

DM1 DM DM3 Aggregate DM1 DM DM3 Aggregate DM1 DM2 DM3 Aggregate
2 2

C1 P MP P (0.33,1.66,3.66) MG G G (6.33,8.33,9.66) MG M M (3.66, 5.66, 7.66)

C2 MP M M (2.33, 4.33, 6.33) MG G MG (5.66, 7.66, 9.33) M MP M (2.33, 4.33, 6.33)
C3 M M M (3, 5, 7) MG MG MG (5, 7, 9) P P MP (0.33,1.66,3.66)
C4 P MP P (0.33,1.66,3.66) MG MG G (5.66, 7.66, 9.33) MG M MG (4.33,6.33,8.33)
C5 P P MP (0.33,1.66,3.66) MG MG G (5.66, 7.66, 9.33) M M MG (3.66, 5.66, 7.66)
C6 P MP P (0.33,1.66,3.66) MG MG G (5.66, 7.66, 9.33) MP M M (2.33, 4.33, 6.33)
C7 P MP P (0.33,1.66,3.66) G G G (7,9,10) G G G (7,9,10)
C8 MP MP MP (1,3,5) M P MP (0,3,7) G G G (7,9,10)
C9 P P MP (0.33,1.66,3.66) G G G (7,9,10) M M MP (2.33, 4.33, 6.33)
C10 P MP MP (0.66, 2.33, 4.33) VG VG VG (9,10,10) P P MP (0.33,1.66,3.66)
C11 P MP MP (0.66, 2.33, 4.33) P P MP (0.33,1.66,3.66) P P P (0,1,3)

According to Shen et al. (2013), it is used to fluctuate somewhat the 5. Discussion on the findings and implications
values of the weights to monitor their influences on the decision, and,
consequently, to confirm the validity of the resulting findings. Hence, a The research methodology applied (Section 3) in the understudied
sensitivity analysis is applied in this investigation to assess the appli­ context (Section 4) helps achieve two main objectives that take into
cability of I4.0 technologies toward sustainable products development account several implications for those policy-and decision-makers who
considering the variation of sustainability criteria importance weights. intend to examine the applicability of I4.0 technologies in each of the
As shown in Fig. 5, fifteen experiments on eleven criteria are carried out, triple bottom lines (economic, environmental, and social) at the product
with each one being treated as a condition, to test the validity of the level, and, more significantly, to scrutinize state-of-the-art I4.0 tech­
obtained results. nologies based on product sustainability criteria. To be a sound assess­
Based on this analysis, in fourteen conditions T1, T2, T4, T6, T5, and ment, the results were drawn from the perceptions of professional
T3 have the best ranking, respectively. In only one experiment (E12), the technologists (see Table 2), who play a crucial role as both internal and
ranking is T1, T2, T4, T5, T6, and T3, respectively. Thus, it can be external stakeholders in addressing technological issues within organi­
concluded that the process of our decision-making is not sensitive to the zations including multinationals. Knowing their perceptions in this
weights of criteria with T1 – in other words, ‘Big Data Analytics’ obtains setting is particularly essential since it provides policy-and decision-
the first rank among others. Based on this analysis, Technology 1 CCi makers with a deeper understanding of the assessment from the
value varies from 0.34 to 0.36; Technology 2 CCi value varies from perspective of one of their most important groups of stakeholders.
0.338 to 0.358; Technology 3 CCi value varies from 0.175 to 0.191; Despite the research in the context was based on nine major I4.0
Technology 4 CCi value varies from 0.284 to 0.299; Technology 5 CCi technologies (Table 1), the results from the survey, as summarized in
value varies from 0.276 to 0.293; and Technology 6 CCi value varies Table 3, revealed that six technologies–T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, and T6–are
from 0.28 to 0.296. The decision makers can apply these values in their meaningfully applicable in each of the economic, environmental, and
decision-making process based on priority. social aspects at the product level. Considering both economic and
environmental sustainability aspects, T1 had the highest applicability
for developing sustainable products, while T5, by contrast, has had the

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H. Gholami et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 377 (2022) 134327

Table 8 criticism of the work of Bai et al. (2020) who have regarded, in the
Fuzzy-decision matrix normalized and weighted. automotive industry, autonomous robots to improve industrial envi­
Criteria T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 ronmental sustainability dimensions and big data analytics to address
social sustainability concerns. It is even asserted that “in this way we
C1 (0.05, (0.03, (0.03, (0.09, (0.03, (0.04,
0.07, 0.04, 0.03, 0.19, 1) 0.03, 0.05, significantly support organizations and industry in their
0.14) 0.06) 0.04) 0.05) 0.09) decision-making processes (Bai et al., 2020, p.12, p.12)”. This may be
C2 (0.09, (0.05, (0.03, (0.05, (0.03, (0.05, due to having different outlooks – general outlook vs. particular outlook.
0.19, 1) 0.07, 0.04, 0.07, 0.04, 0.07, In pursuit of the first objective’s results, an appraisal approach by
0.14) 0.05) 0.14) 0.05) 0.14)
C3 (0.07, (0.03, (0.03, (0.04, (0.03, (0.09,
applying FTOPSIS was performed to further scrutinize state-of-the-art
0.14, 0.04, 0.04, 0.06, 0.04, 0.19, 1) I4.0 technologies in a fuzzy environment; an environment that neces­
0.5) 0.06) 0.05) 0.04) 0.06) sitates the consideration of the 6Rs and the entire product life-cycle in
C4 (0.04, (0.04, (0.03, (0.09, (0.03, (0.07, addition to the TBL. To this end, the approach was developed (see Fig. 4)
0.05, 0.05, 0.04, 0.19, 1) 0.04, 0.05,
with the six most applicable technologies as well as eleven critical
0.09) 0.09) 0.05) 0.05) 0.04)
C5 (0.04, (0.07, (0.03, (0.09, (0.03, (0.04, criteria within the three sustainability divisions (Table 4). The results
0.05, 0.05, 0.03, 0.19, 1) 0.04, 0.05, from the FTOPSIS application, as outlined in Table 10, revealed that T1
0.09) 0.04) 0.04) 0.05) 0.09) with CCi = 0.349 is the topmost applicable technology, signifying that it
C6 (0.09, (0.04, (0.03, (0.09, (0.03, (0.05, has the highest performance for developing sustainable products. In
0.19, 1) 0.06, 0.04, 0.19, 1) 0.04, 0.07,
0.04) 0.05) 0.05) 0.14)
contrast, T3 with CCi = 0.183 had the lowest rank. It is worth noting that
C7 (0.9, 1, (0.3, (0.03, (0.03, (0.7, (0.7, these findings have been discussed with professional technologists.
1) 0.5, 0.7) 0.16, 0.16, 0.9, 1) 0.9, 1) Accordingly, it is agreed that such an approach and outcome can be
0.36) 0.36) adopted by policy-and decision-makers to foster the technology through
C8 (0.43, (0.7, (0.03, (0.1, (0, 0.3, (0.7,
policy interventions since the appraisal approach has been based on the
0.63, 0.9, 1) 0.16, 0.3, 0.5) 0.7) 0.9, 1)
0.83) 0.36) product sustainability criteria, and not merely from a general outlook of
C9 (0.36, (0.7, (0.9, 1, (0.03, (0.7, (0.23, sustainability. Moreover, the process of decision-making was also found
0.56, 0.9, 1) 1) 0.16, 0.9, 1) 0.43, to be insensitive to the weights of criteria with T1.
0.76) 0.36) 0.63) These findings are incomparable with previous I4.0 research since
C10 (0.1, (0.7, (0.06, (0.06, (0.9, 1, (0.03,
this study has been the first empirical one investigating such technolo­
0.3, 0.5) 0.9, 1) 0.23, 0.23, 1) 0.16,
0.43) 0.43) 0.36) gies toward developing sustainable products based on product sustain­
C11 (0.03, (0.7, (0.06, (0.06, (0.03, (0, 0.1, ability criteria, highlighting the unique contribution of the current study
0.16, 0.9, 1) 0.23, 0.23, 0.16, 0.3) to the field and thus calling for cutting-edge studies to advance this new
0.36) 0.43) 0.43) 0.36)
research avenue. Considering the work of Stock and Seliger (2016), who
Criteria T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 were among the first to significantly contribute to the area of SM 4.0
C1 (0.04, (0.02, (0.02, (0.07, (0.02, (0.03, (Fig. 1), the topic seems relatively young and in need of movement to
0.06, 0.04, 0.03, 0.18, 1) 0.03, 0.05, create significant outlooks. There are very few empirical studies dis­
0.14) 0.06) 0.04) 0.05) 0.09) cussing the issue of technology assessment in the context of
C2 (0.07, (0.04, (0.02, (0.04, (0.02, (0.04,
manufacturing from a sustainability perspective (e.g., Bai et al., 2020;
0.18, 1) 0.06, 0.04, 0.06, 0.04, 0.06,
0.14) 0.05) 0.14) 0.05) 0.14) Chiarini, 2021); however, to be a sound assessment, the shift from
C3 (0.05, (0.02, (0.02, (0.03, (0.02, (0.07, general outlooks to particular outlooks is needed considering that (1)
0.13, 0.04, 0.04, 0.05, 0.04, 0.18, 1) manufacturing encompasses interrelated elements, with inter-connected
0.5) 0.06) 0.05) 0.04) 0.06) processes, units, norms, values, behaviors, individuals and groups,
C4 (0.03, (0.03, (0.02, (0.07, (0.02, (0.05,
0.05, 0.05, 0.04, 0.18, 1) 0.04, 0.05,
which are influencing and being influenced by one another, and (2)
0.09) 0.09) 0.05) 0.05) 0.04) sustainable manufacturing is essentially a complex systems problem
C5 (0.02, (0.04, (0.01, (0.05, (0.01, (0.02, (Jawahir and Bradley, 2016) and being relied highly on the analytical
0.04, 0.04, 0.02, 0.14, 0.02, 0.04, approaches that make learning and development through reductionism
0.08) 0.04) 0.04) 0.93) 0.04) 0.08)
thinking and mechanism interpretation.
C6 (0.07, (0.03, (0.02, (0.07, (0.02, (0.03,
0.17, 1) 0.05, 0.03, 0.17, 1) 0.04, 0.06, Nonetheless, the findings can corroborate empirically the studies
0.04) 0.05) 0.05) 0.14) demonstrating theoretically the applicability of T1 to improve direct/
C7 (0.6, (0.2, (0.02, (0.02, (0.53, (0.53, indirect costs, product end-of-life management, and wastes & emissions
0.9, 1) 0.4, 0.7) 0.14, 0.14, 0.83, 1) 0.83, 1) (Song and Moon, 2017; Rajput and Singh, 2019; Nascimento et al., 2019;
0.36) 0.36)
Enyoghasi and Badurdeen, 2021; Gholami et al., 2021), T2 to improve
C8 (0.35, (0.58, (0.02, (0.08, (0, 0.2, (0.58,
0.6, 0.86, 1) 0.15, 0.2, 0.5) 0.7) 0.86, 1) product quality & durability, safety & health impacts, and functional
0.83) 0.36) performance (Tao et al., 2018; Carvalho et al., 2020; Enyoghasi and
C9 (0.29, (0.58, (0.74, (0.02, (0.58, (0.19, Badurdeen, 2021; Gholami et al., 2021), T3 to improve functional per­
0.53, 0.86, 1) 0.96, 1) 0.15, 0.86, 1) 0.41,
formance (MacArthur and Waughray, 2016; Hashemi et al., 2022;
0.76) 0.36) 0.63)
C10 (0.06, (0.46, (0.03, (0.03, (0.56, (0.02, Enyoghasi and Badurdeen, 2021; Gholami et al., 2021), T4 to improve
0.24, 0.74, 0.19, 0.19, 0.83, 0.13, initial investments, energy use & efficiency, and material use & effi­
0.48) 0.96) 0.41) 0.41) 0.96) 0.34) ciency (Wee et al., 2015; Stock and Seliger, 2016; Kamble et al., 2018;
C11 (0.02, (0.46, (0.03, (0.03, (0.02, (0, 0.08, Nascimento et al., 2019; Enyoghasi and Badurdeen, 2021; Gholami
0.13, 0.74, 0.19, 0.19, 0.13, 0.28)
et al., 2021), T5 to improve functional performance, safety & health
0.34) 0.96) 0.41) 0.41) 0.34)
impacts, and product end-of-life management(Frank et al., 2019;
Enyoghasi and Badurdeen, 2021; Gholami et al., 2021), and T6 to
lowest applicability as such. Taking the social sustainability aspect into improve benefits and losses, product end-of-life management, and
consideration, T2 seems to have high applicability for product-level product quality & durability (Wang et al., 2016; Tao et al., 2018; Frank
social sustainability development. These findings are handy informa­ et al., 2019; Enyoghasi and Badurdeen, 2021; Gholami et al., 2021) at
tion for the manufacturer seeking to develop sustainability in each of the the product level. These underlying findings deliver the following
TBL at the product level. However, the findings detect an implied implications:

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H. Gholami et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 377 (2022) 134327

Table 9
Distances and T*, T− per criteria.
C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11

d(T1,T*) 0.92 0.74 0.79 0.94 0.95 0.72 0.23 0.45 0.51 0.75 0.83
d(T2,T*) 0.96 0.92 0.96 0.94 0.96 0.96 0.60 0.25 0.25 0.35 0.35
d(T3,T*) 0.97 0.96 0.96 0.96 0.97 0.96 0.83 0.83 0.15 0.80 0.80
d(T4,T*) 0.74 0.92 0.96 0.94 0.94 0.72 0.83 0.76 0.81 0.80 0.80
d(T5,T*) 0.96 0.96 0.96 0.96 0.97 0.96 0.29 0.75 0.26 0.27 0.83
d(T6,T*) 0.94 0.92 0.74 0.95 0.95 0.92 0.29 0.26 0.61 0.83 0.88
C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11
d(T1,T− ) 0.09 0.58 0.29 0.06 0.05 0.58 0.85 0.62 0.56 0.31 0.21
d(T2,T− ) 0.04 0.09 0.04 0.06 0.04 0.04 0.47 0.83 0.83 0.74 0.74
d(T3,T− ) 0.03 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.22 0.22 0.90 0.26 0.26
d(T4,T− ) 0.59 0.10 0.05 0.59 0.54 0.59 0.23 0.32 0.23 0.27 0.27
d(T5,T− ) 0.03 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.02 0.04 0.82 0.42 0.83 0.78 0.21
d(T6,T− ) 0.06 0.09 0.58 0.04 0.05 0.09 0.82 0.83 0.44 0.21 0.16

particularly when making capital investment decisions. In a

Table 10
competitive international and regulatory context, it may also help
Computations of d+, d− and CCi.
diminish the environmentally-and legislation-based risks and
d+ d− CCi Rank improve the competitiveness of a manufacturer. Such an assessment,
T1 7.83 4.2 0.349 1 which is of critical importance to sustainable development, would
T2 7.50 3.92 0.343 2 hence be beneficial to policy-and decision-makers seeking to make
T3 9.19 2.06 0.183 6 policies toward augmenting the sustainability values of I4.0 in the
T4 9.22 3.78 0.290 3
T5 8.17 3.27 0.285 5
manufacturing context. To avoid any uncertainty, a sound assess­
T6 8.29 3.37 0.289 4 ment necessitates the engagement of stakeholders, who can influence
or be influenced by the decisions. This current study involved pro­
fessional technologists, who play an important role as both internal
• Theoretical implications – contributing a particular outlook, which and external stakeholders in addressing technological issues within
has yet to be explored in the literature, to enlarging the area of SM organizations including multinationals. It may be necessary to
4.0 which is an effective convergence of two broad concepts of sus­ conduct further research on such topics; the studies investigating and
tainable manufacturing (SM) and Industry 4.0. It is responding to developing value co-creation strategies for technological decision-
calls and questions in the literature, as discussed in Section 1, to making are especially noteworthy.
augment the economic, environmental, and societal values of I4.0 in
the manufacturing context through integrating SM and I4.0, and
6. Conclusions and recommendations
expanding the understanding of how developing sustainable prod­
ucts could be enabled by I4.0 technologies.
To maximize the economic, environmental, and societal values of
• Managerial implications – entailing stepwise guidelines to imple­
I4.0 in the manufacturing context, effective integration of state-of-the-
ment an appraisal approach in the area of SM 4.0 as well as an
art I4.0 technologies with the sustainable manufacturing paradigm has
applicable performance indicator set for assessing product-level
been urged to develop sustainable products. The purpose of this inte­
sustainability that takes, in addition to the TBL, 6Rs and the entire
gration is to develop products that are more energy-efficient, eco-
product life-cycle into consideration. This appraisal approach can
friendly, and socially-responsible since it has been affirmed that I4.0 and
enable policy-and decision-makers to determine what technology is
its applicable technologies possess great potential to this end. Although
required to be invested in making their products more sustainable.
there are many efforts to develop sustainable manufacturing, very little
However, they need to get a better understanding of I4.0 technolo­
research has been conducted on investigating the applicability of I4.0
gies and their applicability to product-level sustainability,
technologies to the development of sustainable products. The current

Fig. 5. Outcome of sensitivity analysis.

11
H. Gholami et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 377 (2022) 134327

literature reveals that no research has empirically scrutinized I4.0 Teknologi Malaysia under the Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme (PDRU
technologies in each of the triple bottom lines at the product level; Grant), Vot no. Q. J130000.21A2.05E33.
particularly using product sustainability criteria.
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