Customers’ willingness of irresponsible industry 4.0 companies to co-create sustainable practices
ISSN: 1747-1117
Article publication date: 30 September 2021
Issue publication date: 28 November 2022
Abstract
Purpose
In this regard, this paper aims to wonder how willing to co-create sustainable practices customers of irresponsible Industry 4.0 (I4.0) companies are? With this purpose, the authors began introducing I4.0 and sustainability, showing their theoretical gaps.
Design/methodology/approach
I4.0 has recently spread with its technological developments and social, economic and political ambitions, facing challenges-related, for example, to the implementation of sustainable practices and the stakeholders’ participation.
Findings
Then the authors conduct a literature review following a sequential mix-method approach that begins with a bibliometric analysis and ends with a content study to propose a conceptual model for I4.0 and sustainability. Once the authors understood the theoretical gaps in the framework of the conceptual model, the authors conducted an empirical verification between clients of a Colombian company of the I4.0 belonging to the logistic sector, specifically of the deliveries, asking them about the labor issues that the company faces with delivery people and their willingness to co-create. The authors analyzed the collected data through a structural equation modeling model, where the authors found that customers’ willingness to co-create depends on intrinsic behaviors like “responsible behavior,” followed by extrinsic behaviors such as “helping.”
Originality/value
In fact, stakeholders may support companies, but customers must learn how to assume a critical posture during their purchase decision.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the University of Medellin and all those who participated in the data collection with their responses.Availability of data and materials: The materials, specifically the instruments for data collection were taken from the literature as referenced while the response to the instrument was collected by ourselves.Competing interests: We have no conflicts of interest to report.Funding: We have no source of funding to report.Authors’ contributions: Manuela Escobar-Sierra, PhD conducted the literature review, data collection, analysis and interpretation of the results and wrote up the findings. Alejandra García-Cardona, PhD(c) built the theoretical framework of the research on I4.0 and sustainability with its hard and soft practices. Fidel León-Darder, PhD reviewed the document and its consistency.
Citation
Escobar-Sierra, M., García-Cardona, A. and León-Darder, F. (2022), "Customers’ willingness of irresponsible industry 4.0 companies to co-create sustainable practices", Social Responsibility Journal, Vol. 18 No. 8, pp. 1547-1566. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-05-2021-0206
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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