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Recent economic transformations have forced companies to redefine their value propositions, increasing traditional product offerings with supplementary services—the so-called Product-Service System (PSS). Among them, the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies is very common. However, the directions that companies are undertaking to offer new value to their customers in the Industry 4.0 have not yet been investigated in detail. Based on a focus group, this paper contributes to this understanding by identifying the main trajectories that would shape a future scenario in which PSS and Industry 4.0 would merge. In addition, future research directions addressing (a) the transformation of the PSS value chain into a PSS ecosystem, (b) the transformation inside a single company towards becoming a PSS provider, and (c) the digital transformation of the traditional PSS business model are identified.

The present article aims to analyze the process of deindustrialization in Brazil, but from the regional perspective, more specifically, to analyze the impact of the Dutch disease on the processing industry of the states. In this sense, an attempt will be made to conceptualise the term deindustrialization that can be applied at the regional level. To analyze the impact of the Dutch disease, the method of panel data analysis was adopted.

PurposeDigitalization has transformed several industries during the past two decades. In this paper the authors focus on the retail sector, where new business models help retailers and suppliers meet the ever changing and demanding needs of retail shoppers. One example of this business model innovation is multi-sided digital platforms, which have become popular as they connect consumers with suppliers from around the world with a large ecosystem to support the retail platform. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of how multi-sided digital platforms are transforming the retail exchange logic and assess the implications and impact of these platform-based businesses on the retail sector, especially for business managers and consumers.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the authors employ literature review, conceptual analysis and qualitative case study methodology. The authors provide an overview of how the platform economy is affecting the retail sector through the illustration of four digital multi-sided platforms: Alibaba Group, Amazon.com, eBay and Rakuten Group, and what differentiates them from incumbent business models in retailing.FindingsThe findings suggest that platforms transform the transaction logic of retailing as they simply intermediate transactions between buyers and suppliers rather than handling the entire supply and logistics chain themselves. The authors highlight the role of consumer understanding and Big Data as one example of how multi-sided digital platforms differentiate from their non-platform competitors.Practical implicationsThe paper highlights how incumbent retailers can compete against new forms of business, such as digital platforms, and the authors demonstrate some of the managerial capabilities needed to remain relevant amidst this new digital competition.Originality/valueVery little empirical studies in marketing and retail literature have focused on multi-sided digital platforms and their business models. The present study fills this gap with an overview of how multi-sided digital platforms transform the retail sector.

The article examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the content of key functional strategies of companies in the real sector of the economy. The purpose of the article is to assess the changes in the economic behaviour of companies in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, to analyse business practices in adapting functional strategies to new risks, and to determine the directions for transforming functional strategies. An analysis of companies’ business practices showed that the pandemic had a significant impact on the economic behaviour of companies, transforming not only their tactics, but also their strategy. The functional strategies of the companies have undergone significant changes - marketing, production, personnel management strategies. The transformation of the marketing sphere is due to new trends in the sphere of consumption that have arisen as a result of the introduction of restrictive measures by states. The changed conditions of production activities necessitated accelerated digitalization and robotization of production, restructuring of supply chains and determined the need for the formation of innovative production strategies that meet the conditions of the Industry 4.0 era. The strategy and tactics of personnel management of companies are adapting to the conditions of the epidemic using a remote work format, digitalization of processes and tasks, and the use of new approaches in management. Based on the results of the study, the authors concluded that the pandemic has highlighted problems in the ability of companies to learn quickly in a rapidly changing environment. Today, the surviving companies are those that have been able to best adapt to unforeseen threats. For them, the coronavirus pandemic is not the cause of the crisis, but a turning point and a unique opportunity to develop in a highly competitive environment.

   Over the past two decades, the Taiwan government promulgated some regulatory measures and promotional actions on energy efficiency promotion and renewable energy development. In March 2022, the “ Taiwan ’s Pathway to Net-Zero Emissions in 2050” was announced to respond to the Paris Agreement. In order to achieve the goal, the Climate Change Response Act (CCRA) was passed on February 15, 2023, requiring the de-carbonization measures and adaptation strategies. The main aim of this paper was to analyze the changes in GHG emissions and renewable energy supply by using the updated data from the official statistics in connection with the trends of environmental and energy sustainability since 2000. The findings showed that total installed capacity of renewable power (especially in solar power and wind power) showed an amazing increase over the past decade, leading to the inclined GHG emissions and thus supporting the environmental and energy sustainability toward a low-carbon society. Furthermore, this paper summarized the development history and main differences concerning the carbon neutrality policy and legislation in Japan and South Korea. For achieving the staged targets of GHG emissions by 2030 and 2050, this paper finally addressed the technological approaches for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 in Taiwan, focusing on the transformation of energy and industry, and the policy implications by all levels of government.

In recent years, China’s pharmaceutical industry has experienced rapid growth, positioning itself as the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical market and R&D hub. However, the industry faces significant challenges due to policy shifts and the effects of a “capital winter”. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the key trends shaping the future of China’s pharmaceutical sector, focusing on the impact of emerging technologies, such as precision medicine and synthetic biology, on drug development processes. It also examines changes in market demand for advanced formulations, chronic disease treatments, and rare disease drugs. Additionally, the paper explores the primary drivers and barriers to the industrial transformation from the perspectives of population aging, industrial restructuring, and internationalization. The findings suggest that technological innovation and industrial upgrading are critical to driving high-quality development in drug research and manufacturing. Achieving this requires coordinated efforts in policy optimization and corporate innovation to overcome technological barriers and promote sustainable, global growth. This study offers theoretical insights and practical recommendations for policymakers and corporate strategists in fostering long-term innovation and competitive advantage in the pharmaceutical industry.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify sustainability learnings from origins of epidemics such as COVID-19 and deduct conclusions for businesses to create sustainable futures in three industries, which are strongly affected by Covid-19. Two main questions guide the discussion: How can we break the paths of viral epidemics through accounting for sustainability issues in the supply chain? How can we learn from sustainable supply chain failures to transform industries for sustainable futures? Design/methodology/approach This viewpoint provides a conceptual discussion of opportunities and the necessity to develop resilient businesses for three indsutries, which have been particularly affected by the Covid-19 crises. Findings To defeat future pandemics, three paths how epidemics develop need to be broken in order to create sustainable development structural transitions beyond degrowth are needed. Practical implications The practical implications for this paper are the learnings for management to develop more resilient businesses. Social implications By breaking the three paths of pandemic development and by contributing to sustainable futures of sectors, the likelihood of future pandemics can be reduced. Originality/value By considering origins and the past of pandemics and with sustainability transformations of businesses, contributions can be made for more sustainable futures of industries.

This study provides scientific evidence to support sustainable agricultural development and advance the dual carbon goals. A hybrid deep learning model—combining Convolutional Neural Networks and Long Short-Term Memory networks—is developed to evaluate the effects of agricultural industry transformation. Convolutional Neural Networks are used to extract spatial features from agricultural data, while Long Short-Term Memory networks processed time series data. To enhance model performance, the slime mould algorithm is employed for parameter optimization. Experimental results demonstrated that the hybrid model achieves excellent predictive accuracy, with crop yield prediction exceeding 99%. The average error between the model’s evaluation and the actual transformation outcomes is only 3.33%. Across various climatic conditions, the average prediction error remains below 2.5%, indicating strong adaptability and stability. Compared with traditional methods—such as deep neural networks, support vector machines, and linear regression—the proposed model effectively integrates static and dynamic agricultural data. Static features, including farmland distribution and soil types, are extracted using Convolutional Neural Networks, while temporal trends in variables such as weather patterns and policy changes are captured by the Long Short-Term Memory network. This adaptive fusion of multidimensional data significantly improves the accuracy of both crop yield forecasting and agricultural transformation assessment. In conclusion, the model offers a robust, high-accuracy decision-support tool for promoting low-carbon agricultural development. It provides practical insights for advancing sustainability and supporting the national dual carbon strategy.

The “carbon peak, carbon neutral” goal and the rapid development of new energy sources such as photovoltaic and hydrogen energy have accelerated the decline of the traditional coal industry. Therefore, the coal industry urgently needs to seize the opportunity for coal transformation and achieve high-quality development to improve its competitiveness. This study used a combination of literature analysis and case supplementation to identify 12 influencing factors of coal industry transformation. The DEMATEL method was used to classify the 12 influencing factors into four groups: strong cause, weak cause, strong outcome, and weak outcome. Then, the ISM method was used to construct a multi-level recursive structure of the factors influencing the transformation of the coal industry. The results show that the influencing factors of coal industry transformation can be divided into a three-layer hierarchical structure. Among them, policy traction is the most critical fundamental influence, technological change has the highest importance in the indirect influence layer, while safety production, related industries and support, and capital funding are the most effective direct influence. It should be the focus of attention.

Today we are witnessing a change in the production paradigm of the fashion industry. The negative impacts of different processes along the supply chain are evident and consumers have begun to shift to brands seeking effective organizational strategies and supply chain-management models that consider the safeguarding of the planet's resources and demonstrate respect for people. Impelled by these developments, fashion brands are moving from market-driven to purpose-driven strategies. The fashion industry is now recognizing the circular economy (CE) as the leading entrepreneurial model for addressing supply-chain issues related to sustainability. However, there are still gaps in the levels of environmental, economic, social, and cultural sustainability being achieved. Implementation of this model on a large scale is still in the early stages and recent experience indicates a need to rethink the current linear system to enable different actors along the fashion-supply chain to adapt. Further, the fashion system lacks a holistic vision that can support and guide this sustainable transformation toward CE. This article describes how several companies are currently implementing circularity and presents evidence that an emphasis on this concept is relevant for the global fashion industry. It aims to show how emergent design practices are supporting fashion companies to better focus their sustainability agendas, to approach them in a holistic manner, and to consider all business processes with the goal of implementing sustainable development strategies. Analyzing contemporary design-driven best practices, the article introduces a taxonomy highlighting effective ongoing strategies (mini-loops) leading to incremental changes toward CE. Furthermore, it synthesizes possible future trajectories that could lead the fashion system to finally close the loop of circularity.