Central European Business Review 2017, 6(2):18-29 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.177

The Environmental Impact of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies: Examples from Hungary

Andrea Szalavetz
Andrea Szalavetz, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of World Economics, MTA KRTK, 45, Budaörsi út, H-1112, Budapest, Hungary, szalavetz.andrea@krtk.mta.hu

The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the beneficial impact of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) on firms' environmental performance. Drawing on interviews conducted with 16 Hungarian manufacturing subsidiaries on their experience with AMT, we find three functional areas, where industry 4.0 solutions can not only enhance operational excellence and cost-efficiency, but they can also improve eco-efficiency, but they can also improve eco-efficiency, namely in the field of quality management (through smart production control, data analytics and predictive modelling solutions); process optimization (through capacity planning and production scheduling solutions); and product and process engineering (through advanced virtual technologies). We also find that AMT adoption facilitated subsidiary upgrading along various dimensions. The main managerial implication is that subsidiaries need to be proactive, and emphasize also the benefits stemming from energy and resource efficiency improvement when lobbying for investment in AMT.

Keywords: industry 4.0; greening; manufacturing subsidiaries; process upgrading; Hungary
JEL classification: F23, O14, O33, Q55

Received: February 28, 2017; Revised: April 1, 2017; Published: June 30, 2017  Show citation

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Szalavetz, A. (2017). The Environmental Impact of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies: Examples from Hungary. Central European Business Review, 6(2), 18-29. doi: 10.18267/j.cebr.177
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