López-Cóza Na a o, C is ina; P iede-Be gamini, Tiziana; Cuello-de-O o-Celes ino,
Diego
A icle
Indus y 4.0 and en i onmen al p o ec ion: The ca alys
ole o public inancial suppo
Am i ea u Economic
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
The Bucha es Uni e si y o Economic S udies
Sugges ed Ci a ion: López-Cóza Na a o, C is ina; P iede-Be gamini, Tiziana; Cuello-de-O o-
Celes ino, Diego (2025) : Indus y 4.0 and en i onmen al p o ec ion: The ca alys ole o public
inancial suppo , Am i ea u Economic, ISSN 2247-9104, The Bucha es Uni e si y o Economic
S udies, Bucha es , Vol. 27, Iss. 68, pp. 111-127,
h ps://doi.o g/10.24818/EA/2025/68/111
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T ans o ma ions o he Socio-Poli ical-Economic Sys ems a he Con luence
wi h New Technologies: Re isi ing he “Libe alism Ve sus S a ism” Dilemma
in he Con ex o he Indus ial Re olu ion 4.0
AE
Vol. 27 • No. 68 • Feb ua y 2025 111
INDUSTRY 4.0 AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION:
THE CATALYST ROLE OF PUBLIC FINANCIAL SUPPORT
C is ina López-Cóza -Na a o1
*
, Tiziana P iede-Be gamini2
and Diego Cuello-de-O o-Celes ino3
1) Poly echnic Uni e si y o Mad id, Mad id, Spain
2) Eu opean Uni e si y o Mad id, Mad id, Spain
3) Uni e si y o Valladolid, Sego ia, Spain
Please ci e his a icle as:
López-Cóza -Na a o, C., P iede-Be gamini, T. and
Cuello-de-O o-Celes ino, D., 2025. Indus y 4.0 and
En i onmen al P o ec ion: The Ca alys Role o Public
Financial Suppo . Am i ea u Economic, 27(68),
pp. 111-127.
DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.24818/EA/2025/68/111
A icle His o y
Recei ed: 3 Sep embe 2024
Re ised: 5 No embe 2024
Accep ed: 7 Decembe 2024
Abs ac
This a icle examines he ela ionship be ween he adop ion o digi al echnologies and he
co po a e commi men o en i onmen al p o ec ion, while also explo ing whe he his
ela ionship is s eng hened by public inancial suppo . Using a sample o 1,616 Spanish
manu ac u ing i ms and analyzing each echnology independen ly, he s udy inds a posi i e
and signi ican associa ion be ween Indus y 4.0 echnologies and he implemen a ion o
en i onmen al p ac ices. Fu he mo e, he esul s highligh he media ing ole o public
suppo , since i ms adop ing ad anced echnologies and ecei ing di ec s a e unding o ax
incen i es demons a e highe le els o en i onmen al in es men . By disagg ega ing he
ypes o echnologies and dis inguishing be ween unding mechanisms, his esea ch p o ides
nuanced insigh s in o he e ec i eness o public in e en ions in p omo ing sus ainable
p oduc ion p ocesses. The indings unde sco e he in e play be ween he public and p i a e
sec o s in ad ancing en i onmen al inno a ion, e ealing he ole o s a ism in os e ing
sus ainabili y wi hin he amewo k o Indus y 4.0.
Keywo ds: Indus y 4.0, echnologies, public suppo , en i onmen al p o ec ion, subsidies,
ax deduc ions.
JEL Classi ica ion: M11, M15, O32, O33
*
Co esponding au ho , C is ina López-Cóza -Na a o – e-mail: c is ina.lopezcoza @upm.es
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion License, which pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in
any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed. © 2023 The Au ho (s).
AE
Indus y 4.0 and En i onmen al P o ec ion: The Ca alys Role
o Public Financial Suppo
112 Am i ea u Economic
In oduc ion
The digi al ans o ma ion o p oduc ion sys ems has been one o he cen al issues o
manu ac u ing companies in indus ialized coun ies. Ma king he beginning o he so-called
ou h indus ial e olu ion, his new pa adigm, known as Indus y 4.0 (I4.0), is based on he
implemen a ion and in eg a ion o a wide a ie y o in o ma ion and digi al echnologies
(Lasi e al., 2014; Schwab, 2017), which ha e made i possible o e olu ionize p oduc ion
me hods o make hem mo e e icien . In he Eu opean con ex , digi aliza ion is a p io i y o
EU policies, conside ing he gaps compa ed o he Uni ed S a es (Ionaşcu e al., 2022).
Acco ding o he epo Digi alisa ion in Eu ope 2022-2023: EIB In es men Su ey
(Eu opean In es men Bank, 2023), he EU has been closing his gap wi h he Uni ed S a es
in he adop ion o ad anced digi al echnologies, wi h 69% o EU companies implemen ing
hese new echnologies by 2022, compa ed o 71% o US companies. Despi e hese
encou aging igu es, i is impo an o no e ha u he p og ess is needed o a oid being le
behind in he ace owa d digi aliza ion, bu in es men in digi al echnologies is signi ican ly
lowe in smalle companies (Eu opean Commission, 2023).). This is because hey o en ace
budge a y cons ain s and lack he esou ces o adop new echnologies wi h he same speed
as la ge companies.
I4.0 ans o ms p oduc ion me hods and supply chains, op imizing and achie ing g ea e
e iciency h oughou he en i e p ocess (Ghobakhloo, 2020; Díaz-Chao, Ficapal-Cusí and
To en -Sellens, 2021). By eaching g ea e in e ac ion and be e coo dina ion be ween he
di e en pa ies, I4.0 echnologies (I4.0T) con ibu e o sus ainable p oduc ion and
dis ibu ion. Digi iza ion can suppo a mo e e ec i e and e icien alloca ion o esou ces
and he e o e lowe esou ce consump ion. In summa y, i can be use ul in achie ing a
sus ainable en i onmen in he manu ac u ing indus y (De Sousa Jabbou e al., 2018; Bha ia
and Kuma , 2022; Ja aid e al., 2022). Al hough I4.0T is o en c edi ed wi h os e ing
sus ainabili y h ough enhanced esou ce e iciency and op imized supply chains ha nou ish
each o he , i is also ue ha he inc eased ene gy demand o digi al in as uc u es and he
challenges in managing elec onic was e (e-was e) gene a ed by I4.0 sys ems may unde mine
hese en i onmen al bene i s (Bonilla e al., 2018; Ghulam and Abushammala, 2023). This
duali y sugges s ha , while I4.0T can suppo en i onmen al goals, i s implemen a ion mus
ca e ully balance he po en ial o esou ce op imiza ion wi h he isks o unin ended
ecological ha m.
Despi e he oppo uni ies o e ed by I4.0, i is also necessa y o bea in mind ha i equi es
la ge in es men s (Lu h a and Mangla, 2018; Ti abeni e al., 2019). Indeed, o ake ull
ad an age o all i s bene i s, i is necessa y no only o ha e he echnologies bu also o
mas e se e al capabili ies. The use o I4.0T will equi e ha employees ecei e he p ope
aining and skill de elopmen o unde s and, manage and execu e new jobs, as well as o
unde go o ganiza ional and co po a e cul u e changes (De Sousa Jabbou e al., 2018). All o
his in ol es signi ican ou lays, which can be a ba ie o many companies, especially o
SMEs (Ingaldi and Ulewicz, 2020; Kuma , Singh and Dwi edi, 2020; To en ‐Sellens,
Ficapal‐Cusí and Enache‐Zeghe u, 2023; López-Cóza -Na a o, P iede-Be gamini and
Cuello-de-O o-Celes ino, 2024). In ac , i is o en no enough o make an ini ial in es men ,
bu also necessa y o conside he gene al main enance cos s ha companies mus bea o
keep he echnology ope a ional and up o da e (Kuma , Singh and Dwi edi, 2020;
Ghobakhloo e al., 2022). Addi ionally, since echnological inno a ion is de eloping a an
T ans o ma ions o he Socio-Poli ical-Economic Sys ems a he Con luence
wi h New Technologies: Re isi ing he “Libe alism Ve sus S a ism” Dilemma
in he Con ex o he Indus ial Re olu ion 4.0
AE
Vol. 27 • No. 68 • Feb ua y 2025 113
unp eceden ed pace, as b eak h oughs and imp o emen s eme ge, companies will need o
con inue in es ing o upg ade and ake ull ad an age o he bene i s o I4.0. These a e
in es men s wi h unce ain e u ns and a long payback pe iod, which means ha p o i abili y
and e u n on in es men a e main conce ns o mos companies in addi ion o hei po en ial
u u e bene i s (Ho á h and Szabó, 2019; Ve ma e al., 2022; López-Cóza -Na a o, P iede-
Be gamini and Beni o-He nández, 2023).
Thus, gi en ha new sma echnologies can con ibu e o a mo e sus ainable indus y, bu
many companies do no ha e he inancial esou ces o unde ake digi al ans o ma ion, we
conside ha public adminis a ions mus suppo hese p ojec s in a global sense.
Consequen ly, ollowing his easoning, we p opose a esea ch ques ion based on whe he
public inancial suppo is he ca alys o I4.0T o imp o e he en i onmen al and ecological
pe o mance o i ms. This ques ion engages in he global deba e on whe he ma ke o ces
o go e nmen in e en ions a e mo e e ec i e in aligning I4.0T wi h EP. Ma ke -d i en
app oaches emphasize inno a ion and e iciency, while go e nmen al suppo may add ess
esou ce limi a ions, a b oade adop ion, and equi able p og ess.
The aim o his pape is he e o e o s udy whe he companies ha use digi al echnologies
and ecei e suppo and/o ob ain ax bene i s in es in en i onmen al p o ec ion (EP). We
in end o add ess some gaps exis ing in he cu en li e a u e on he ela ionship be ween he
use o I4.0T and sus ainabili y. Al hough he e a e pape s on he subjec , esea ch is s ill
sca ce (Ja aid e al., 2022). In ac , mos o he p e ious esea ch is concep ual in na u e and
is based solely on quali a i e o heo e ical a gumen s (Veile e al., 2021; To en ‐Sellens,
Ficapal‐Cusí and Enache‐Zeghe u, 2023). As shown by Hallioui e al. (2022), he
ela ionship be ween I4.0 and EP, as wo new elemen s o he con empo a y business se ing,
has ga ne ed a g ea deal o a en ion o e he pas yea s, bu he e is s ill a dea h o empi ical
da a o suppo he e ec i eness o hese echnological ools as sus ainabili y d i e s. Thus,
ou pape aims o expand he knowledge on hese issues by p o iding empi ical e idence
wi h a la ge sample o Spanish manu ac u ing companies; and, a he same ime, in oducing
di e en ia ing elemen s in he esea ch. Indeed, we s udy he a ious I4.0T sepa a ely
because he p e ious li e a u e has gene ally conside ed I4.0 as a collec ion o echnologies
wi hou dis inguishing among hem (Bai e al., 2020). Howe e , each o hese echnologies
has he po en ial o ha e an impac on EP, bo h a ou ably and/o un a ou ably (Chia ini,
2021). The e o e, we ag ee wi h Bai e al. (2020) in conside ing ha analysing each I4.0T
independen ly can yield g ea e insigh s. On he o he hand, ega ding public suppo , we
p opose o dis inguish be ween ax deduc ions (indi ec suppo ) and subsidies (di ec
suppo ). In addi ion, in he case o ecei ing public inancial esou ces, we sugges
dis inguishing acco ding o hei o igin ( unds ecei ed om he cen al o local go e nmen
o om o he o ganiza ions). This will allow us o go deepe and s udy he e ec i eness o
each o he ini ia i es de eloped by di e en public adminis a ions. The s udy ocuses on
Spain, a coun y whe e he business landscape is p edominan ly based on SMEs, which o en
s uggle o access unding and show low le els o echnological in ensi y (Camiña, Díaz-
Chao and To en -Sellens, 2020). Addi ionally, he Spanish go e nmen 's in e es in new
echnologies and digi aliza ion has signi ican ly inc eased in ecen yea s, as e idenced by
se e al ini ia i es and p og ams implemen ed by he Depa men o indus y and small
business a ai s. Howe e , Spain’s e i o ial s uc u e, o ganized in o Au onomous
Communi ies wi h a high deg ee o sel -go e nance, makes i pa icula ly in e es ing o
analyze he possible di e ences be ween he inancial esou ces p o ided by he cen al
AE
Indus y 4.0 and En i onmen al P o ec ion: The Ca alys Role
o Public Financial Suppo
114 Am i ea u Economic
go e nmen and hose o local adminis a ions, o iden i y which ha e a g ea e impac on
he business sec o . Building on his, i is c ucial o conside he b oade deba e ega ding he
ole o ma ke o ces e sus go e nmen al in e en ion in econciling echnological
inno a ion wi h he EP.
Wi h his objec i e in mind, he a icle is s uc u ed as ollows. The li e a u e e iew and
wo king hypo heses a e hen p esen ed. In he ollowing sec ions, he me hod o empi ical
analysis and he esul s and discussion a e de eloped, concluding wi h he analysis' p ima y
indings and hei implica ions o he a ious agen s in ol ed.
1. Re iew o he li e a u e and hypo hesis
The li e a u e a gues ha I4.0 can aid achie e g eene p oduc ion sys ems and p omo e
sus ainable de elopmen (Lu h a and Mangla, 2018; Ghobakhloo, 2020; Kuma , Singh and
Dwi edi, 2020; To en ‐Sellens, Ficapal‐Cusí and Enache‐Zeghe u, 2023; López-Cóza -
Na a o, P iede-Be gamini and Cuello-de-O o-Celes ino, 2024).).).
Dubey e al. (2017) conduc ed a seminal s udy in which hey empi ically in es iga ed he
e ec s o big da a and p edic i e analy ics on social pe o mance and en i onmen al
pe o mance using a sample o 205 manu ac u ing o ganiza ions in India. They sugges ha
adop ion o I4.0 in manu ac u ing can imp o e supply chain sus ainabili y o Indian i ms.
De Sousa Jabbou e al. (2018) poin ou ha I4.0T can make i possible o alloca e esou ces
such as ene gy, wa e , ma e ials, and p oduc s mo e e ec i ely by using eal- ime da a om
supply chain pa ne s and manu ac u ing sys ems. Pape s such as hose de eloped by Hallioui
e al. (2022) and Ja aid e al. (2022) de elop esea ch based on a li e a u e e iew o explo e
he ways in which I4.0T can enhance en i onmen al sus ainabili y. O e ing empi ical
e idence, Meghișan-Toma e al. (2022), om a su ey o wo ke s in Romanian companies,
ind a posi i e ela ionship be ween he use o I4.0T and g een pe o mance. Camodeca and
Almici (2021) -wi h I alian lis ed i ms- and Ionaşcu e al. (2022) -wi h companies included
in he main EU inancial ma ke s-, ind a posi i e ela ionship be ween digi aliza ion and EP
and sus ainable de elopmen . Re e ing speci ically o he manu ac u ing indus y, Bha ia
and Kuma (2022) wi h a sample o Indian i ms, and López-Cóza -Na a o, P iede-
Be gamini and Cuello-de-O o-Celes ino (2024) wi h Spanish i ms, ind e idence on he
connec ion be ween I4.0T and en i onmen al commi men . Howe e , al hough echnological
p og ess is undoub edly c ucial and essen ial o d i e sus ainable de elopmen , i is also
e iden ha i con ibu es signi ican ly o he gene a ion o pollu ing was e. A he end o
hei use ul li e, he elec onic de ices equi ed o de elop I4.0T signi ican ly add o he
accumula ion o e-was e, becoming one o he g ea es en i onmen al h ea s o ou ime.
The pa adox lies in he ac ha , while echnology o e s inno a i e solu ions o
sus ainabili y, i also p esen s c i ical challenges o managing he was e i p oduces due o
i s complexi y and di e si y (Oláh e al., 2020; Ghulam and Abushammala, 2023); sugges ing
ha he ela ionship be ween I4.0 and EP can be complemen a y, bu in some cases
con adic o y depending on implemen a ion.
On he o he hand, as discussed be o e, wi hin I4.0 he e is a wide ange o echnologies, each
p o iding di e en solu ions and ad an ages (Xu, Da id and Kim, 2018; Ma inelli, Mina
and Moggi, 2021; Hallioui e al., 2022). Bai e al. (2020), using in o ma ion om he Wo ld
Economic Fo um, conclude ha each echnology mus be ca e ully e alua ed, as a speci ic
echnology will in luence sus ainabili y di e en ly. In he I alian manu ac u ing indus y,
T ans o ma ions o he Socio-Poli ical-Economic Sys ems a he Con luence
wi h New Technologies: Re isi ing he “Libe alism Ve sus S a ism” Dilemma
in he Con ex o he Indus ial Re olu ion 4.0
AE
Vol. 27 • No. 68 • Feb ua y 2025 115
Chia ini (2021) ound ha some echnologies we e ele an in imp o ing en i onmen al
pe o mance, o he s con ibu ed mode a ely, o he s had a nega i e e ec and o he s no e ec
a all. Simila ly, Duan e al. (2024) in es iga ed how a ious I4.0Ts should con ibu e o
sus ainabili y a he p oduc le el in China. Thei esul s show ha augmen ed/ i ual eali y
has he po en ial o signi ican ly ad ance social sus ainabili y in manu ac u ing, and big da a
analysis shows encou aging indings o me hods ha a e bo h economically and
en i onmen ally sus ainable a he p oduc le el.
The e o e, o shed ligh on he ela ionship be ween I4.0 and EP, we p opose a i s gene al
hypo hesis and he ollowing sub-hypo heses, conside ing each echnology sepa a ely.
H1: The e is a posi i e ela ionship be ween using I4.0T and pe o ming EP.
H11. Augmen ed o i ual eali y → + → EP
H12. Au oma ically guided ehicles o sys ems → + → EP
H13. Au oma ed s o age sys ems → + → EP
H14. Cloud compu ing → + → EP
H15. Machine lea ning / Big da a → + → EP
H16. Compu e ision → + → EP
H17. Na u al language p ocess → + → EP
H18. Radio equency iden i ica ion and in en o y → + → EP
H19. Indus ial obo ics → + → EP
H110. Touchsc eens / Kiosks o cus ome in e ace → + → EP
H111. Indus ial in e ne / in e ne o hings → + → EP
H112. 3D p in → + → EP
In iew o all he a ailable echnologies, i can be s a ed ha he de elopmen o I4.0 is
complex since i is a b oad phenomenon. In ac , he a ie y and complexi y o each
echnology is widely ecognized in he li e a u e. P e ious esea ch has indica ed ha a majo
obs acle o he ex ensi e adop ion and use o I4.0T ac oss a ious businesses is i s in ica e
and agmen ed cha ac e (Ghobakhloo e al., 2022). In addi ion, inancial limi a ions a e
seen by business o ganiza ions as an impo an ba ie o ad ancing hei capaci ies in e ms
o mode n machine y and ools, acili ies, and sus ainable p ocess imp o emen s in I4.0
(Lu h a and Mangla, 2018). As Ti abeni e al. (2019) claim, la ge in es men s a e equi ed
in o de o bene i om wha his indus y has o o e . Wi hou suppo , a single business,
ha dly a SME, canno access digi iza ion. Ho á h and Szabó (2019), wi h quali a i e
esea ch based on in e iews wi h op execu i es, ound ha SMEs ha e limi ed esou ces
and a e o en unable o in es in new echnologies. On he o he hand, bigge mul ina ional
companies show a be e condi ion, since hey can alloca e and deploy mo e esou ces o
inno a i e de elopmen s, hus he managemen 's abili y o handle unce ain y and hei
willingness o y no el ideas may be he main ou s anding conce ns. In sho , compa ed o
SMEs, mul ina ional co po a ions ha e s onge incen i es and ewe obs acles in he way o
I4.0; ne e heless, smalle businesses also show an excellen po en ial.
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Indus y 4.0 and En i onmen al P o ec ion: The Ca alys Role
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116 Am i ea u Economic
In his same line, Ingaldi and Ulewicz (2020) s udy he use o I4.0T and how p epa ed smalle
o ganiza ions a e o sus ainable de elopmen h ough echnology ad ancemen , poin ing o
he lack o unding as a p ima y cons ain . Kuma , Singh and Dwi edi (2020) claim ha
p omo ing I4.0T o SMEs migh be di icul because o a ange o inancial and ope a ional
es ic ions and highligh lack o unds o in es men s in new echnologies as a main
challenge. Simila ly, he EIB epo (2023) also poin s o he sho age o unds and he lack
o sou ces o inancing as one o he main obs acles aced by companies. In sum, he digi al
ans o ma ion o he indus ial sec o equi es a subs an ial amoun o unds, and hence a
majo ba ie o sus ainabili y is he indus y's lack o inancial esou ces (Ve ma e al., 2022).
Consequen ly, he p oposal o inc ease digi aliza ion wi h incen i es and ax educ ions
aligns wi h he opinions o se e al academics who emphasize he c i ical impo ance o
alloca ing inancial esou ces o de elop I4.0T (Ho á h and Szabó, 2019; Ma e al., 2021).
Since mos o ganiza ions ely on ex e nal suppo o adop dis up i e echnologies, mos
schola s belie e ha go e nmen s can play a ele an ole in business digi aliza ion by
simpli ying he i s s ages o he digi al shi , such as he adop ion decision-making p ocess
pa icula ly o SMEs (Ghobakhloo e al., 2022).
In he li e a u e, he e a e some pape s ha con as he bene i s o public suppo ocused on
speci ic egions. Camodeca and Almici (2021) ound ha I alian companies ha e boos ed
digi al ans o ma ion e o s due o ax incen i es om he na ional I4.0 plan, which has
been c ucial in encou aging his shi . Ma e al. (2021) conduc ed 52 semi-s uc u ed expe
in e iews in he Ty ol-Vene o c oss-bo de mac o- egion and ound ha app op ia e
incen i es and inancial esou ces a e key o I4.0 adop ion. These include p o iding ax
elie s and o he incen i es o suppo digi aliza ion in es men s and company aining
ini ia i es. Re e ing o Spain, Camiña, Díaz-Chao and To en -Sellens (2020) s a ed ha in
he Spanish con ex , cha ac e ized by SMEs wi h low echnological in ensi y and limi ed
R&D esou ces, public suppo policies a e essen ial. P o iding incen i es and inancial
assis ance can help hese companies in es in digi al ans o ma ion and aining. This
discussion ine i ably ouches on he b oade deba e abou whe he public adminis a ions
should inance p i a e ini ia i es, aising ques ions o e iciency and e ec i eness. Ou
analysis seeks o assess whe he exis ing public suppo mechanisms a e achie ing hei
in ended goals in d i ing digi al and g een ansi ions, shedding ligh on he balance be ween
ma ke and go e nmen in e en ions.
Thus, ou aim is o co obo a e whe he he e o s made by public adminis a ions do indeed
se e o imp o e he beha iou o companies in ela ion o EP. Wi h he aim o s udying he
e ec i eness o he di e en ypes o public suppo , he ollowing hypo heses a e p esen ed.
We p opose a i s gene al hypo hesis and ou sub-hypo heses.
H2. Companies using I4.0T and ecei ing public suppo pe o m EP.
H21. Companies using I4.0T and ecei ing s a e suppo pe o m EP.
H22. Companies using I4.0T and ecei ing local suppo pe o m EP.
H23. Companies using I4.0T and ecei ing o he suppo pe o m EP.
H24. Companies using I4.0T and ecei ing ax deduc ions pe o m EP.
T ans o ma ions o he Socio-Poli ical-Economic Sys ems a he Con luence
wi h New Technologies: Re isi ing he “Libe alism Ve sus S a ism” Dilemma
in he Con ex o he Indus ial Re olu ion 4.0
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Vol. 27 • No. 68 • Feb ua y 2025 117
2. Resea ch me hodology
2.1. Sample
This pape is based on da a om he Su ey on Business S a egies (SBS), an annual su ey
o Spanish manu ac u ing companies. Managed by he SEPI Founda ion in collabo a ion wi h
he Spanish Minis y o Indus y, he SBS p o ides a ep esen a i e sample o he sec o and
has been ex ensi ely ci ed in esea ch on I4.0 (Camiña, Díaz-Chao and To en -Sellens,
2020; Díaz-Chao, Ficapal-Cusí and To en -Sellens, 2021; To en ‐Sellens, Ficapal‐Cusí
and Enache‐Zeghe u, 2023) and en i onmen al sus ainabili y (Beni o-He nández, López-
Cóza -Na a o and P iede-Be gamini, 2021, 2023; Ga cés-Aye be e al., 2022; López-Cóza -
Na a o, P iede-Be gamini and Beni o-He nández, 2023).
2.2. Va iables
We aim o examine he ole o public suppo as a ca alys be ween he use o digi al
echnologies and companies' commi men o EP. Thus, he dependen a iable (INVEST) is
de ined as a ca ego ical a iable ha indica es whe he he company has in es ed in
equipmen and acili ies ela ed o he con ol o en i onmen al pollu ion. The SBS allows
access o his in o ma ion, including a di ec ques ion on his aspec (Díaz-Chao, Ficapal-
Cusí and To en -Sellens, 2021; Beni o-He nández, López-Cóza -Na a o and P iede-
Be gamini, 2023; To en ‐Sellens, Ficapal‐Cusí and Enache‐Zeghe u, 2023; López-
Cóza -Na a o, P iede-Be gamini and Cuello-de-O o-Celes ino, 2024).
In p e ious s udies, he in luence o I4.0T on EP has been measu ed wi h a limi ed numbe
o echnologies (Camiña, Díaz-Chao and To en -Sellens, 2020; To en ‐Sellens, Ficapal‐
Cusí and Enache‐Zeghe u, 2023). In ou case, as can be seen in Table 1, we include 12
di e en echnologies ha gi e ise o 12 ca ego ical independen a iables. The esponses
o he companies o each o hese a iables ha e been eg ouped in o ca ego ical a iables
wi h 4 alues: 0 (No I4.0T used o es ed / no eply /do no know); 1 (I4.0T used o less han
5% o ac i i y); 2 (I4.0T in use o an in e al be ween 5% and 25% o ac i i y); and 3 (I4.0T
in use o mo e han 25% o he ac i i y).
I he 12 independen a iables abo e allow us o es H1, p o iding a aluable desc ip i e
s udy abou he g ea e o lesse use o each o hem and hei impac on EP, hei use becomes
s a is ically complica ed and no e y use ul in es ing H2. Indeed, in his hypo hesis, he aim
is o analyse he media ing ole ha public inancial suppo , in i s in e ac ion wi h I4.0, plays
on EP. To make he esul s mo e comp ehensible and ollowing o he au ho s who ha e used
he same da a base (Camiña, Díaz-Chao and To en -Sellens, 2020; To en ‐Sellens,
Ficapal‐Cusí and Enache‐Zeghe u, 2023), an addi i e indica o is cons uc ed om he
p e ious a iables. A ca ego ical a iable is gene a ed, called I4.0+, wi h 4 alues: 0 (no use
o I4.0T); 1 (use o 1 o 4 I4.0T); 2 (use o 5 o 8 I4.0T); 3 (use o 9 o 12 I4.0T).
Consequen ly, we c ea ed an independen a iable ha g adually measu es he mo e o less
in ensi e use o he di e en echnologies ha ep esen I4.0.
Rega ding public inancial suppo , h ee a iables e e o he inancial esou ces ecei ed
o R&D ( om he s a e adminis a ion, he local adminis a ion, and o he inancing
ins i u ions), and TAX includes he o al alue o he deduc ions applied in co po a e ax.
AE
Indus y 4.0 and En i onmen al P o ec ion: The Ca alys Role
o Public Financial Suppo
118 Am i ea u Economic
Finally, his pape conside s h ee con ol a iables. The company age (AGE) ep esen s he
i m’s yea o cons i u ion and has been used in p e ious li e a u e (Beni o-He nández,
López-Cóza -Na a o and P iede-Be gamini, 2021). The size o he company is ep esen ed
by wo a iables: he numbe o employees (EMP) and he o al amoun o sales (SALES).
P e ious s udies ha e ound a posi i e ela ionship be ween company size and en i onmen al
s a egies (Ga cés-Aye be e al., 2022). Expenses on EP (EXPEN) has been also used as a
con ol a iable in p e ious li e a u e (Beni o-He nández, López-Cóza -Na a o and P iede-
Be gamini, 2023; López-Cóza -Na a o, P iede-Be gamini and Cuello-de-O o-Celes ino,
2024). These expenses can be conside ed as sho - e m policies ha may s eng hen
in es men s in EP in he long e m.
Table no. 1. Va iables
Name
En i onmen al p o ec ion
In es men in EP
INVEST
0 = No in es men in EP
1 = In es men in EP
I4.0 Technology
Augmen ed o i ual eali y
AVR
0 = No use / no es ed /
1 = In use o less han 5% o
ac i i y
2 = In use o an in e al
be ween 5% and 25% o he
ac i i y
3 = In use o mo e han 25% o
he ac i i y
Au oma ically guided ehicles o
sys ems
AGVS
Au oma ed s o age sys ems
ASS
Cloud compu ing
CC
Machine lea ning / Big da a
MLBD
Compu e ision
CV
Na u al language p ocess
NLP
Radio equency iden i ica ion and
in en o y
RFII
Indus ial obo ics
IR
Touchsc eens / Kiosks o cus ome
in e ace
TKCI
Indus ial in e ne / In e ne o hings
IIIoT
3D P in
3DP
Indus y 4.0
I4.0+
0 = No use o I4.0T
1 = Use o 1-4 I4.0T
2 = Use o 5-8 I4.0T
3 = Use o 9-12 I4.0T
Public suppo
Financial esou ces ecei ed om he
s a e adminis a ion o R&D
STATE
To al s a e inancing
Financial esou ces ecei ed om he
local adminis a ion o R&D
LOCAL
To al local inancing
O he public inancing o R&D
OTHER
To al o he public inancing
To al alue o he deduc ions applied in
co po a e ax o R&D
TAX
To al ax deduc ions
T ans o ma ions o he Socio-Poli ical-Economic Sys ems a he Con luence
wi h New Technologies: Re isi ing he “Libe alism Ve sus S a ism” Dilemma
in he Con ex o he Indus ial Re olu ion 4.0
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Vol. 27 • No. 68 • Feb ua y 2025 125
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