An analysis of the extent to which industry 4.0 has been considered in sustainability or socio-technical transitions

Abstract

A growing database of literature is geared towards the analysis and evaluation of Industry 4.0. One of the points of interest is the assessment of Industry 4.0 in the context of sustainability and sustainable development. However, there seems to be a gap in the literature focusing on transitions to more sustainable states that are evidently fostered by socio-technical [system] transitions, sometimes referred to as ‘sustainability transitions’. This presents the need to evaluate the interfacial layers of these disciplines, given the larger challenge of sustainability and Industry 4.0’s potential to support complex problem-solving. This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of the literature that jointly considers the concepts of sustainability, sustainable development, and socio-technical systems, and the transitions thereof with Industry 4.0.