Thesis

Integrating industry 4.0 technologies and green supply chain management for sustainable renewable energy supply chains in Africa

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Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 2026
Thesis identifier
  • T17654
Person Identifier (Local)
  • 202264277
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Qualification Name
Department, School or Faculty
Abstract
  • As global attention intensifies around sustainability, renewable energy supply chains in emerging economies are under increasing pressure to enhance their environmental, economic, and social performance. Industry 4.0 technologies including blockchain, Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence alongside Green Supply Chain Management practices like eco-design and green procurement have been advocated as enablers of sustainable transformation. However, empirical evidence on how these two dimensions interact within resource-constrained African contexts remains sparse. Moreover, existing theories like the Resource-Based View and Natural Resource-Based View require further contextualization in emerging market supply chains to reflect the complexities of digital-sustainability integration. To address these conceptual and empirical gaps, this study adopted a sequential mixed-methods design, beginning with a qualitative phase involving semi-structured interviews with 8 managers and experts from renewable energy firms operating in sub-Saharan Africa. The qualitative insights uncovered key contextual factors influencing sustainability practices, including limited digital infrastructure, institutional weaknesses, and capability-related barriers. These findings informed the development of a conceptual model and survey instrument for the quantitative phase. Subsequently, the quantitative component employed a cross-sectional survey targeting 450 renewable energy experts across Africa and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling to test four hypotheses derived from Resource-Based View and Natural Resource-Based View frameworks. The results indicate that Industry 4.0 technologies do not directly improve sustainability performance but exert a significant positive effect on the adoption of Green Supply Chain Management practices, which in turn fully mediate the relationship between Industry 4.0 technologies and Sustainability Performance. These findings are suggestive of a nuanced extension of Resource-Based View, showing that digital resources alone may not meet the Resource-Based View’s “valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable resources” criteria in sustainability contexts unless embedded in structured environmental capabilities. Similarly, the findings align with NRBV by showing that environmental outcomes are achieved not through technology adoption per se, but through its integration with pollution prevention and product stewardship practices. This study contributes to theory by, first, clarifying how GSCM operates as a mediating environmental capability that activates the sustainability potential of digital resources; second, by extending the Resource-Based View/Natural Resource-Based View frameworks to better reflect the realities of renewable energy supply chains in African economies; and third, by emphasizing that in sustainability contexts, digital tools become strategically valuable only when paired with proactive, system-wide environmental management routines. Importantly, it contributes contextual nuance to existing theories by illustrating how structural and institutional constraints in African RESCs limit firms' ability to translate digital innovation into sustainability gains without targeted investments, capacity-building, and policy alignment. From a practical standpoint, the study highlights the need for governments, industry actors, and supply chain managers to pursue integrated digital–green strategies. Policy interventions including tax incentives, workforce upskilling, and digital infrastructure investments are vital to supporting Industry 4.0-enabled sustainability. The study suggests that firms should recognize that digital transformation is not a standalone solution, rather, should be deliberately aligned with green supply chain strategies.
Advisor / supervisor
  • Masood, Tariq
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