Going green and profitable: The impact of smart manufacturing on Chinese enterprises

The potential of Industry 4.0-based smart manufacturing to drive sustainable and profitable practices in enter-prises has yet to be fully explored. This study addresses this gap by utilizing a Propensity Score Matching with Difference-in-Difference methodology to investigate the causal impact of smart manufacturing policy imple-mentation on the green innovation and financial profitability of Chinese manufacturing enterprises. Our results demonstrate that the adoption of smart manufacturing pilots not only promotes green innovation, but also en-hances financial profitability of Chinese manufacturing firms. Moreover, we examine the underlying mechanism and boundary conditions of this causal relationship. By shedding light on the net effect of government policies aimed at facilitating smart transformation, our research offers a valuable contribution to the existing literature on Industry 4.0-based smart manufacturing.