Industry 4.0 impacts on operational and green innovation performances with the mediation of green practices

PurposeThe aim of this study is to investigate how green supply chain management (GSCM) practices mediate the effect of Industry 4.0 technologies on operational and green innovation performances.Design/methodology/approachTo explore the study, data were collected from 225 different manufacturing industries in Pakistan. Gathered data were used to test the hypotheses using SmartPLS 3 software by using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings reveal that operational and green innovation performances are directly affected by the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies and GSCM practices. Furthermore, the GSCM practices positively affect operational and green innovation performances. The study also investigated that the GSCM practices partially mediate the effect of Industry 4.0 on operational and green innovation performances.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has some limitations, the data of this study were majorly collected from large enterprises of Pakistani firms and related to the manufacturing sector only. So, there is a huge need for attention toward small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Very few researchers are focusing on SMEs, so future research can be on SMEs. It can be suggested that the relationship between digital technologies and green innovation performance can be tested through a quantitative procedure. Moreover, the effect of GSCM's aspects can be estimated on manageable execution.Originality/valueThrough the mediating relationship of GSCM practices, this research has made a unique contribution by investigating the influence of Industry 4.0 on operational and green innovation performances. To the author's knowledge, no research has been undertaken in this area.