THE ASIAN BULLETIN OF GREEN MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Navigating the Global Environmental Crisis in Pakistan: Integrating Sustainable Development Goals, Climate Adaptation, and Technological Innovation

2026-06-09T05:59:50+00:00

: Environmental issues, such as climate change and urban stress, are threatening the SDGs worldwide. Many countries, regardless of their low contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, have been devastated by droughts, floods, and heatwaves over the last decade, demonstrating how vulnerable many areas are becoming due to these environmental issues. Several of these issues are associated with the SDG framework, including climate resilience, urban environment quality, water stress, pollution and health, deforestation, and biodiversity conservation. Additional quantitative evidence supports the fact that the problems created by climate change are worsening, as in many parts of the world, per capita water supply has been declining; PM2.5 concentrations in many urban areas exceed WHO acceptable limits by very high amounts; there is ongoing pressure on forests; and there is an increasing occurrence and severity of extreme weather events. This review provides an assessment of the global environmental crisis in terms of the UN SDGs based on research studies from 2020 to 2025. Despite these potential advancements, several barriers continue to exist. There are substantial funding and governance gaps, as well as a limited ability to measure human development in relation to ongoing environmental degradation. As a result, the research highlights the requirement for comprehensive and integrated methods of addressing and overcoming current economic crises through using AI-based decisions, improving policies, and engaging communities to enhance the capacity to adapt and develop economically sustainable products. This assessment also serves as a source of information for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners in recognizing the importance of integrating sustainable development with technological innovations to address urgent global environmental concerns.

Industry 4.0 Technology Adoption and Sustainable Business Performance: The Mediating Role of Green Supply Chain Management and the Moderating Effects of Sustainability Awareness

2026-04-30T04:13:35+00:00

The growing adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies has transformed organizational processes, yet the mechanisms through which digital transformation enhances sustainable business performance remain unclear, especially in emerging economies. Drawing on the Resource-Based View, Natural Resource-Based View, Dynamic Capabilities Theory, and Upper Echelons Theory, this study examines the impact of Industry 4.0 technology adoption on Sustainable Business Performance (SBP), emphasizing the mediating role of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) and the moderating effect of Sustainability Awareness (SA). Using survey data from 355 manufacturing firms in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, the study applies Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test a moderated mediation framework. The results indicate that Industry 4.0 adoption significantly improves both GSCM and sustainable business performance. GSCM serves as a strong mediator, suggesting that digital technologies contribute to sustainability primarily by strengthening green supply chain practices. Moreover, Sustainability Awareness enhances the effects of Industry 4.0 adoption on GSCM, strengthens the influence of GSCM on sustainable performance, and amplifies the overall indirect impact of digital adoption on sustainability outcomes. These findings demonstrate that technological capabilities generate sustainable value most effectively when embedded in green operational processes and guided by sustainability-oriented managerial cognition. This study contributes to the digital sustainability and supply chain literature by offering a process-based, context-sensitive explanation of how Industry 4.0 fosters sustainable business performance, providing practical insights for managers and policymakers seeking to align digital transformation with long-term environmental, social, and economic goals.

Artificial Intelligence-Driven Supply Chain Management and Financial Performance in Emerging Economy Firms: The Mediating Role of Sustainable Development

2026-06-17T21:41:42+00:00

This study examines the impact of AI-driven supply chain management on financial performance in emerging economy firms, with sustainable development acting as a mediating variable. The study explains how AI-enabled supply chain practices contribute to both sustainability and organizational financial outcomes. A quantitative cross-sectional research design was adopted using data collected from 356 supply chain and operations professionals from emerging economy firms. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) through Smart PLS 4 was employed to test the proposed conceptual framework and mediation relationships. The findings indicate that AI-driven supply chain management positively influences financial performance and sustainable development. Sustainable development practices, including waste reduction, energy efficiency, green logistics, and ESG-oriented operations, partially mediate this relationship. The study concludes that AI integration in supply chain management functions not only as a technological capability but also as a strategic mechanism for enhancing sustainability and financial resilience. Sustainable development plays a significant role in transforming AI-enabled operational improvements into long-term financial benefits. The study contributes to the literature by integrating AI, sustainable development, and financial performance within the context of emerging economy supply chains. The findings provide practical insights for managers and policymakers regarding digital transformation, sustainable supply chain strategies, employee training, ESG alignment, and responsible AI adoption.

Geopolitical Oil Shocks, Energy Vulnerability, and Renewable Energy Resilience in Africa: Evidence from the Iran War Shock

2026-04-30T05:09:47+00:00

This study examines how the Iran war shock affected domestic energy and inflation stress across African countries and whether these effects depended on fossil-fuel import dependence and renewable-energy resilience. Using a monthly panel of 20 African countries covering April 2023 to March 2026, the analysis investigates the transmission of an external geopolitical oil shock into domestic fuel prices and inflation. The study applies fixed-effects, dynamic fixed-effects, and two-step system GMM estimators to assess both the direct effect of the shock and the structural conditions shaping country-level vulnerability. The results show that the Iran war shock significantly increased fuel-price and inflation stress across the sample. More importantly, the adverse effects were stronger in countries with greater net energy import dependence and weaker in countries with higher renewable-energy shares. These findings remain robust across baseline and dynamic specifications. The dynamic results further indicate persistence in domestic fuel-price stress, while the system GMM estimates confirm the continued significance of the shock and the mitigating role of renewable energy. By contrast, the exploratory three-way interaction provides only weak evidence that renewable energy conditionally offsets the additional vulnerability associated with fossil-fuel dependence. Overall, the findings suggest that Africa’s exposure to imported fossil fuels is a major channel through which geopolitical oil disruptions translate into domestic economic stress, whereas renewable energy serves as a measurable source of resilience. The study contributes to the literature by linking geopolitical oil shocks to African energy vulnerability in a panel-data framework and by showing that renewable transition should be understood not only as a climate strategy, but also as an energy-security and macroeconomic-stabilization strategy.

Developing and Validating an Integrated Fintech Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Model in the POST-COVID-19 era for Fintech Startup Success in Pakistan

2026-03-26T04:19:35+00:00

The rapid rise of fintech, driven primarily through technological innovation, has changed finance (Financial Services) through increased efficiency, new products, and more access to finance. The success of fintech is greatly affected by the quality of their entrepreneurial ecosystem (entrepreneurial culture, access to finance, human capital, market conditions, regulations, support services). The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of these six key components on the success of fintech startups. The study takes an Ecosystem Approach to build a model that explains how these components affect fintech startup success based on data collected from fintech professionals and ecosystem participants via surveys and interviews. The model was tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The analysis showed that all six components had a statistically significant and positive effect on the success of fintech startups. The regulatory component, followed by access to finance, showed the greatest positive effect on success. This study builds on prior literature and adds to the growing body of research within the fintech ecosystems by presenting new empirical evidence from an emerging economy, as well as having practical policy implications for developing more successful fintech ecosystems. The findings offer valuable recommendations for policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs pursuing to promote sustainable fintech development and startup success.