The role of Industry 5.0 Internet of Things adoption on sustainable performance of manufacturing SMEs through the integration of supply chain

Organisations today face an increasingly complex and rapidly changing business environment, driving them towards adopting advanced technological innovations to achieve sustainable success. This study focuses on the impact of adopting Internet of Things (IoT) technologies within Industry 5.0 on the sustainable performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector, with a particular emphasis on the mediating role of supply chain integration. The primary data were gathered from 424 professionals working in Egyptian manufacturing SMEs by using an online questionnaire. The collected data were analysed through the application of regression analysis, correlation analysis, and structural equation modelling to evaluate the study hypotheses. Results showed that Industry 5.0 (IoT) adoption has a partial significance on the sustainable performance of manufacturing SMEs. This is further supported by the fact that the Industry 5.0 characteristics positively empower supplier, internal, and customer integration. The results also indicated that although the supplier integration is not critical in influencing the environmental performance, it has a strong impact on economic and social performance. Internal and customer integration affects environmental and social performances but does not affect economic performance. The findings are consistent with the study hypotheses that supply chain integration indeed plays a critical mediating role in the relationship between IoT adoption and sustainable performance.