ENVIRONMENTAL COMPONENT OF PRODUCT QUALITY AS A MANIFESTATION OF INDUSTRY 4.0 BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY: IMPLICATIONS FOR COMPETITIVENESS

The research aims to examine the environmental component of product quality as a manifestation of Industry 4.0 business sustainability and its implications for competitiveness. This research is based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) methodology on the international experience of 63 countries in 2023 using IMD and UN statistics. The authors analyze the interdependence of sustainability and competitiveness of Industry 4 .0 business, showing that improving the environmental component of product quality as a manifestation of sustainability of Industry 4 .0 business contributes to its competitiveness. The global business disparity of Industry 4.0 is reimagined from a sustainability and competitiveness perspective. The authors reveal the prospect of reducing global inequality by increasing the sustainability and competitiveness of Industry 4.0 businesses in developing countries. The main conclusion of this research is that improving the environmental component of the product quality of Industry 4.0 business products simultaneously improves sustainability and competitiveness, making the environmental component the key to consistent quality management and overcoming global inequalities – the digital and sustainability gaps. The theoretical significance of the research results lies in the fact that they clarified the cause-and-effect relationships of quality management in the business of Industry 4.0, formed a more complete understanding of management information systems in the field of business quality of Industry 4.0, and highlighted the systemic interdependence of competitiveness as the main component of product quality and additional environmental component as a manifestation of the sustainability of Industry 4.0business. The practical significance of the author's findings and recommendations is that they will ensure the reduction of global inequality by increasing the sustainability and competitiveness of Industry 4.0 business in developing countries.