Connecting Industry 4.0, Servitisation and Sustainability: Territorial Implications for Global Value Chains

Globalisation has deepened the integration of international production within global value chains (GVCs), where the various stages of the manufacturing process are dispersed across countries. In today's volatile business environment, characterised by rapid technological advances (Industry 4.0)...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Bilbao Ubillos, Javier, Camino Beldarrain, Vicente Francisco, Intxaurburu Clemente, Miren Gurutze, Velasco Balmaseda, Eva
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/77937
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/77937
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:circular economy
Industry 4.0
proximity constraints
reorganising global value chains
servitisation
sustainable development
id ES_5a8f2bc7fbe788c3a48c5958e5ba2b60
oai_identifier_str oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/77937
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
repository_id_str
spelling Connecting Industry 4.0, Servitisation and Sustainability: Territorial Implications for Global Value ChainsBilbao Ubillos, JavierCamino Beldarrain, Vicente FranciscoIntxaurburu Clemente, Miren GurutzeVelasco Balmaseda, Evacircular economyIndustry 4.0proximity constraintsreorganising global value chainsservitisationsustainable developmentGlobalisation has deepened the integration of international production within global value chains (GVCs), where the various stages of the manufacturing process are dispersed across countries. In today's volatile business environment, characterised by rapid technological advances (Industry 4.0) and evolving consumer preferences towards use-based models (servitisation), firms are compelled to adapt swiftly to maintain competitiveness and environmental performance. However, existing research has paid limited attention to how the combined dynamics of Industry 4.0 and servitisation reshapes GVCs in spatial terms and influence proximity constraints and sustainability outcomes. This paper addresses this research gap by examining how digital and servitised production models affect the reconfiguration of GVCs and contribute to the transition towards more circular and sustainable production systems. The study follows a mixed theoretical-empirical approach, combining an extensive literature review with 23 semistructured interviews conducted with executives and experts from industrial firms, technology centres and cluster organisations in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (Spain). Findings indicate that the technological adaptation challenges of Industry 4.0 and the growing cognitive complexity of servitised solutions reinforce spatial concentration dynamics, leading to reshoring and regionalisation processes in high-tech environments. These dynamics may contribute to reducing the ecological footprint, enhancing resource efficiency and facilitating circular economy practices. The paper provides new insights into the territorial implications of the joint deployment of Industry 4.0 and servitisation, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the emerging geography of sustainable global production.The study was supported by Eusko Jaurlaritza (GIC 21/113).Wiley202620262025info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10810/77937reponame:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigacióninstname:Universidad del País VascoIngléshttps://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70456info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/© 2025 The Author(s). Business Strategy and the Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License.oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/779372026-06-18T09:23:17Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Connecting Industry 4.0, Servitisation and Sustainability: Territorial Implications for Global Value Chains
title Connecting Industry 4.0, Servitisation and Sustainability: Territorial Implications for Global Value Chains
spellingShingle Connecting Industry 4.0, Servitisation and Sustainability: Territorial Implications for Global Value Chains
Bilbao Ubillos, Javier
circular economy
Industry 4.0
proximity constraints
reorganising global value chains
servitisation
sustainable development
title_short Connecting Industry 4.0, Servitisation and Sustainability: Territorial Implications for Global Value Chains
title_full Connecting Industry 4.0, Servitisation and Sustainability: Territorial Implications for Global Value Chains
title_fullStr Connecting Industry 4.0, Servitisation and Sustainability: Territorial Implications for Global Value Chains
title_full_unstemmed Connecting Industry 4.0, Servitisation and Sustainability: Territorial Implications for Global Value Chains
title_sort Connecting Industry 4.0, Servitisation and Sustainability: Territorial Implications for Global Value Chains
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Bilbao Ubillos, Javier
Camino Beldarrain, Vicente Francisco
Intxaurburu Clemente, Miren Gurutze
Velasco Balmaseda, Eva
author Bilbao Ubillos, Javier
author_facet Bilbao Ubillos, Javier
Camino Beldarrain, Vicente Francisco
Intxaurburu Clemente, Miren Gurutze
Velasco Balmaseda, Eva
author_role author
author2 Camino Beldarrain, Vicente Francisco
Intxaurburu Clemente, Miren Gurutze
Velasco Balmaseda, Eva
author2_role author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv circular economy
Industry 4.0
proximity constraints
reorganising global value chains
servitisation
sustainable development
topic circular economy
Industry 4.0
proximity constraints
reorganising global value chains
servitisation
sustainable development
description Globalisation has deepened the integration of international production within global value chains (GVCs), where the various stages of the manufacturing process are dispersed across countries. In today's volatile business environment, characterised by rapid technological advances (Industry 4.0) and evolving consumer preferences towards use-based models (servitisation), firms are compelled to adapt swiftly to maintain competitiveness and environmental performance. However, existing research has paid limited attention to how the combined dynamics of Industry 4.0 and servitisation reshapes GVCs in spatial terms and influence proximity constraints and sustainability outcomes. This paper addresses this research gap by examining how digital and servitised production models affect the reconfiguration of GVCs and contribute to the transition towards more circular and sustainable production systems. The study follows a mixed theoretical-empirical approach, combining an extensive literature review with 23 semistructured interviews conducted with executives and experts from industrial firms, technology centres and cluster organisations in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (Spain). Findings indicate that the technological adaptation challenges of Industry 4.0 and the growing cognitive complexity of servitised solutions reinforce spatial concentration dynamics, leading to reshoring and regionalisation processes in high-tech environments. These dynamics may contribute to reducing the ecological footprint, enhancing resource efficiency and facilitating circular economy practices. The paper provides new insights into the territorial implications of the joint deployment of Industry 4.0 and servitisation, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the emerging geography of sustainable global production.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2026
2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10810/77937
url http://hdl.handle.net/10810/77937
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70456
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Wiley
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Wiley
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
instname:Universidad del País Vasco
instname_str Universidad del País Vasco
reponame_str Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
collection Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
_version_ 1869408725460058112
score 15.812429

Similares en LA Referencia