Smart manufacturing and sustainability: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

PurposeDuring the past decade, the necessity to integrate manufacturing and sustainability has increased mainly to reduce the adverse effect on the manufacturing industry, transforming traditional manufacturing into smart manufacturing by adopting the latest manufacturing technology as part of the Industry 4.0 revolution. Smart manufacturing has piqued the interest of both academics and industry. Manufacturing is a foundation of products and services required for human health, safety, and well-being in modern society and from an organizational standpoint. This paper uses bibliometric analysis better to understand the relationship between smart manufacturing and sustainability scholarship and provide an up-to-date account of current industry practices.Design/methodology/approachThis paper used the bibliometric analysis method to analyze and draw conclusions from 839 articles retrieved from the Scopus database from 1994 to February 2022. The methodology is divided into four steps: data collection, analysis, visualization, and interpretation. The current study aims to comprehend smart manufacturing and sustainability scholarship using the bibliometric R-package and VOSviewer software.FindingsThe study provides fascinating insights that may assist scholars, industry professionals, and top management in conceptualizing smart manufacturing and sustainability in their organizations. The results show that the number of publications has significantly increased from 2015 onwards, reaching a maximum of 317 journals in 2021 with an increasing publication annual growth rate of 21.9%. The United Kingdom, India, the United States of America, Italy, France, Brazil and China were the most productive countries in terms of the total number of publications. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Journal of Cleaner Production, International Journal of Production Research, Production Planning and Control, Business Strategy and the Environment Technology in Society, and Benchmarking: An International Journal emerged as the top outlets.Research limitations/implicationsThe research in the area of smart manufacturing and sustainability is underpinned by this study, which aims to understand the trends in this field over the last two decades in terms of prolific authors, most influential journals, key themes, and the field's intellectual and social structure. However, according to the research, this field is still in its early stages of development. As a result, a more in-depth analysis is required to aid in the development of a better understanding of this new field.Originality/valueThe paper focuses on integrating smart manufacturing and sustainability through increased interest from 2015 onwards through the literature review. Specific policies should be formulated to improve the manufacturing sector's competence. Furthermore, these findings can guide researchers who want to delve deeper into smart manufacturing and sustainability.