Lean Digital Culture as an Enabler of Corporate Sustainability Performance: The Mediating Role of Intention to Use Industry 4.0 Technologies

Corporate sustainability considers the long-term creation of value and the ability of companies to survive and thrive, integrating the environmental and social aspects of business activities. In this sense, the adoption of lean management principles and the promotion of a digital-friendly culture are highlighted in this study as key pathways to sustainability, mainly because they are linked to continuous improvement and the seamless integration of new technologies to increase efficiency and achieve strategic business goals and, ultimately, to satisfy stakeholders. Therefore, assessing employees’ perceptions of these two important cultural dimensions: the lean and the digital, is expected to provide management with important information on their level of integration of Industry 4.0 technologies and help diagnose any drawbacks, motives, and opportunities to promote the adaptation of new technologies. In this line of thought, this study proposes a conceptual framework that links the lean and digital dimensions of organisational culture with employees’ intention to use Industry 4.0 technologies. The effect of integrating digital technologies into corporate culture is, in turn, expected to improve sustainability performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to present an integrated research model to assess employees’ lean and digital culture, their level of intention to use Industry 4.0 technologies, and the overall impact on corporate sustainability. The proposed model will then be empirically validated through a field study. The empirical results aim to highlight the people-related enablers and drawbacks of digital transformation by lending a human perspective on the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies, thus facilitating a smooth transition to an Industry 5.0 mindset.