ENHANCING SUSTAINABLE PERFORMANCE IN PAKISTAN’S TEXTILE INDUSTRY: THE ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AND INDUSTRY 4.0 TECHNOLOGIES THROUGH ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION

Abstract

This paper explores how Organizational Learning (OL) and Industry 4.0 Technologies (I4.0) impact Sustainable Performance (SP) in Pakistan textile industry with Organizational Innovation (OI) acting as a mediating factor. Based on the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT), the study formulates a framework on the conversion of capabilities to yield sustainability results, which involves employing knowledge and digital resources to generate sustainability. Based on a survey data of 308 Middle and Top Managers of textile firms of Pakistan and further processed with the help of the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), the results show that Industry 4.0 technologies have a strong, positive, direct effect on sustainable performance and greatly contribute to the innovation of the organization. Organizational innovation has a positive impact on sustainable performance, and to some extent, mediates the impact of organizational learning and Industry 4.0 technologies. The findings prove that sustainability is not a product of resources, but of innovation. The research can add to the sustainability and innovation literature in developing economies and provide strategic implications on digital transformation in the manufacturing industries.