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Since Industry 4.0 (I4.0) is a new idea in Bangladesh, this study supports I4.0 adoption. Companies struggle to implement I4.0 and fully profit from the fourth industrial revolution’s digital transformation due to its novelty. Although barriers to I4.0 adoption are thoroughly studied, the literature has hardly examined the many aspects that are crucial for I4.0 adoption in Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry. So, the purpose of this study is to investigate the barriers of adopting I4.0 in relation to Bangladesh’s RMG industries to enhance the adoption of I4.0 by developing a framework. Ultimately, the goal of this research is to improve the adoption of I4.0 in Bangladesh.

Through a comprehensive analysis of the existing research, this paper aims to reveal the barriers that must be overcome for I4.0 to be adopted. For evaluating those barriers, a decision analysis framework based on the combination of Delphi technique and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method has been developed. The use of DEMATEL has led to a ranking model of those barriers and a map of how the barriers are connected to each other.

The findings reveal that “I4.0 training”, “Lack of Motivation” and “Resistance to Change” are the most significant barriers for adopting Industry 4.0 in RMG sector of Bangladesh based on their prominence scores.

These findings will help the people who make decisions in the RMG industry of Bangladesh, such as company owners, managers and the executive body, come up with a plan for putting I4.0 practices into place successfully. The decision-making framework developed in this research can be utilized by the RMG industry of Bangladesh and other similar industries in developing countries to figure out how important each barrier is for them and how to get rid of them in order of importance.

As far as the authors are aware, there has not been a comprehensive study of the barriers inhibiting the adoption of I4.0 within the scope of Bangladeshi RMG industry. This work is the first to uncover these barriers and analyze them using the combination of Delphi technique and DEMATEL.

The purpose of this study is to analyze and forecast the financial sustainability and resilience of commercial banks of Bangladesh in response to the negative effects of COVID-19 pandemic.

Eighteen publicly listed commercial banks of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) have been taken as a sample for this study. To measure the riskiness of banks' credit portfolio, nine industries of DSE have been considered to determine probable loss of revenue arising from the COVID-19 pandemic shock. Moreover, two commonly used multiple-criteria-decision-making (MCDM) tools namely TOPSIS method and HELLWIG method have been used for analyzing the data.

Based on the performance scores under TOPSIS and HELLWIG method, banks are categorized into three groups (six banks each) namely top resilient, moderate resilient and low resilient. It is found that EBL and DBBL are the most resilient banks, and ONEBANK is the worst resilient bank in Bangladesh in managing the COVID-19 pandemic shock.

This study concludes that banks with low capital adequacy, low liquidity ratio, low performance and higher NPLs are more vulnerable to the shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The management of commercial banks should emphasize on maintaining higher capital base and reducing default loans.

Resilience of the Bangladeshi banking sector under any adverse economic event has been examined by only using stress testing approach. This study is empirical evidence where both TOPSIS and HELLWIG MCDM methods have been used to make the result conclusive.

The readymade garments (RMG) industry acts as one of the foremost vital catalysts for financial as well as social advancement of Bangladesh. Due to the harsh impact of COVID-19, RMG sector has been confronting a never-seen-before phenomenon. Since the supply chain has seriously been influenced, concern raises among industry and policymakers on how to support against disturbances resulting from pandemics. Accordingly, this research aims to explore the vulnerability and capability factors of RMG sector in Bangladesh, their relationship and how these variables affect supply chain resilience.

A qualitative research design has been employed. In the first stage, content analysis has been performed. Since COVID-19 is a new experience, newspapers were the source to become acquainted with the vulnerability and capability factors following the guidelines provided by Pettit et al. (2010). In the second stage, in-depth interviews with key informants were conducted to investigate the relationship among the variables and how these factors may influence supply chain resilience.

This study identifies fourteen capability factors and their sub-factors of RMG industry in Bangladesh in order to improve the resilience capacity against the vulnerabilities in the context of COVID-19 pandemic.

This research is based on the setting of particular industry in Bangladesh, where respondents are immersed in a unique culture. Special care is required to generalize the results to other segments and phenomena.

The framework recognizes the balanced and unbalanced strength with the capability's components and find the relation between capabilities and vulnerabilities within the fashion industry. By creating the resilience network with the four conceivable positions, companies can find themselves with their capability's components and natural vulnerabilities.

This study investigates diverse components of capability figure against vulnerabilities to create the supply chain resilience. This paper, moreover, develops with four conceivable positions with their capabilities against existing vulnerabilities which brings timely contribution considering the context of COVID-19.

Personal remittance and ready-made garments (RMG) export incomes have emerged as the largest source of foreign income for Bangladesh's economy. The study investigates their impact on income inequality and gross domestic product (GDP) as a control variable, using time-series yearly data from 1983 to 2018.

It employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) estimation and the Toda-Yamamoto (T-Y) causality approach. The ARDL estimation outcomes confirm a long-run association among the above variables and validate the autoregressive characteristic of the model.

Personal remittances positively contribute to reducing the income gap among the people of the society and declining income inequality. In contrast, RMG export income and economic growth contribute to further income inequality. The T-Y causality analysis follows the ARDL estimation outcomes and authenticates their robustness. It reveals a feedback relationship between remittance inflow and the Gini coefficient, unidirectional causalities from RMG export income to income inequality and economic growth to income inequality.

The finding has important policy implications to limit the income gaps between low and high-income groups by channeling incremental income to the lower-income group people. The policymakers may facilitate further international migration to attract further remittances and may upgrade the minimum wage of the RMG workers.

The study is original. As far as the authors' knowledge goes, this is a maiden attempt to investigate the impact of personal remittances and RMG export income on income disparity in the case of Bangladesh.

The apparel industry of Bangladesh is rethinking lean manufacturing (LM) deployment because of the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to COVID-19, LM implementation in the apparel industry has become more difficult. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore the barriers to implementing LM practices in the apparel industry of Bangladesh in the context of COVID-19 pandemic.

For evaluating the barriers, an integrated framework that combines the Delphi method and fuzzy total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) has been designed. The application of fuzzy TISM has resulted in a structured hierarchical relationship model of the barriers with driving and driven power.

The findings reveal that “lack of synchronization of lean planning with strategic planning”, “lack of proper understanding of lean concept” and “low priority from the top management” are the three top most important barriers of LM implementation in apparel industry.

These findings will help the apparel industry to formulate strategy for implementing the LM practices successfully. The proposed model is expected to contribute to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) such as Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12); Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8); Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9) via resilient strategies.

This study is one of few initial efforts to investigate LM implementation barriers during the COVID-19 epidemic in a real-world setting.

The objective of this study is to investigate the barriers hindering the integration of lean manufacturing (LM) practices within the furniture industry of Bangladesh. The traditional operational paradigms in this sector have posed substantial challenges to the effective implementation of LM. In this study, the barriers of implementing LM in the furniture business are examined, aiming to provide a systematic understanding of the barriers that must be addressed for a successful transition.

The research reveals that “Fragmented Industry Structure,” “Resistance to Lean Practices” and “Inadequate Plant Layout and Maintenance”, emerged as the foremost barriers to LM implementation in the furniture industry. Additionally, “Insufficient Expert Management,” “Limited Technical Resources” and “Lack of Capital Investment” play significant roles.

The outcomes of this study provide valuable insights into the furniture industry, enabling the development of strategies for effective LM implementation. One notable challenge in lean implementation is the tendency to revert to established practices when confronted with barriers. Therefore, this transition necessitates informed guidance and leadership. In addition to addressing these internal challenges, the scope of lean implementation should be broadened.

This study represents one of the initial efforts to systematically identify and assess the barriers to LM implementation within the furniture industry of Bangladesh, contributing to the emerging body of knowledge in this area.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the institutional and significant competences that have allowed organizations to employ supply chain management (SCM) practices, the practices of SCM and the benefits of SCM practices for both buyers and suppers.

A theoretical model (including hypotheses) has been proposed regarding antecedents, SCM practices and outcomes of SCM. Using purposive sampling method, data were collected from different manufacturing, distributing, wholesaling and retailing organizations. Collected data were analyzed in a principal component analysis and structural equation modeling, including confirmatory factor analysis, and path analysis.

The empirical results provided supportive evidences in favor of the hypotheses and theoretical arguments except one hypothesis. This study did not a find positive relationship between organizational compatibility and SCM practices. The study found relationships between mutual trust and SCM practices, communication and SCM practices, and cooperation and SCM practices, which were positive and significant. Again, the relationships between SCM practices and competitive advantages, and SCM practices and long-term orientation and growth were also positive and significant.

Practitioners could also use the findings to align SCM with business strategy and gain an insight for better utilization of the available resources and technology to perform better.

This study will provide guidance as to the preconditions that need to be in place in order for a company to implement SCM with its suppliers and customers. It will remind practitioners to stay focused on the ultimate goals of SCM – lower costs, increased customer value and satisfaction, and, ultimately, competitive advantage.

The imperative to conserve resources and minimize operational expenses has spurred a notable increase in the adoption of lean manufacturing within the context of the circular economy across diverse industries in recent years. However, a notable gap exists in the research landscape, particularly concerning the implementation of lean practices within the pharmaceutical industry to enhance circular economy performance. Addressing this void, this study endeavors to identify and prioritize the pivotal drivers influencing lean manufacturing within the pharmaceutical sector.

The outcome of this rigorous examination highlights that “Continuous Monitoring Process for Sustainable Lean Implementation,” “Management Involvement for Sustainable Implementation” and “Training and Education” emerge as the most consequential drivers. These factors are deemed crucial for augmenting circular economy performance, underscoring the significance of management engagement, training initiatives and a continuous monitoring process in fostering a closed-loop practice within the pharmaceutical industry.

The findings contribute valuable insights for decision-makers aiming to adopt lean practices within a circular economy framework. Specifically, by streamlining the process of developing a robust action plan tailored to the unique needs of the pharmaceutical sector, our study provides actionable guidance for enhancing overall sustainability in the manufacturing processes.

This study represents one of the initial efforts to systematically identify and assess the drivers to LM implementation within the pharmaceutical industry, contributing to the emerging body of knowledge in this area.

This study aims to address the critical challenge of implementing lean manufacturing (LM) in emerging economies, where sustainability complexities on the production floor hinder production efficiency and the transition towards a circular economy (CE). Addressing a gap in existing research, the paper introduces a path analysis model to systematically identify, prioritize and overcome LM implementation barriers, aiming to enhance performance through strategic removal.

The authors used a mixed-method approach, combining empirical survey data with literature reviews to pinpoint key LM barriers. Using the grey-based Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) along with the Network Knowledge (NK) method, they mapped causal relationships and barrier intensities. This formed the basis for developing a path simulation algorithm, integrating heuristic considerations for practical decision-making.

This analysis reveals that the primary barriers to LM adoption is the negative perception and inadequate understanding of lean tools and CE principles. The study provides a strategic framework for managers, offering new insights into barrier prioritization and overcoming strategies to facilitate successful LM adoption.

This research provides a strategic pathway for overcoming LM implementation barriers, empowering managers in emerging economies to enhance sustainability and competitive advantage through LM and CE integration. It emphasizes the significance of structured barrier management in the manufacturing sector.

This research pioneers a systematic exploration of LM implementation barriers in the CE context, making a significant contribution to the literature. It identifies, evaluates barriers and proposes a practical model for overcoming them, enriching sustainable manufacturing practices in emerging markets.

Industry 4.0 (I 4.0) consists of numerous digital technologies applied in organizations strategically to add value to the customer. Different organizations have varying degrees of technological capability and strategic flexibility. This paper aims to explore the relationship between technological capability and strategic flexibility on successful implementation of I 4.0.

A qualitative study using a grounded theory approach is conducted on 34 senior managers from Europe and North America who have implemented I 4.0 participated in this study through a theoretical sampling frame.

This study finds that technological capability and strategic flexibility have an impact on the successful implementation of I 4.0. The study also finds that different dimensions of technological capability also impact I 4.0. The interactive effect of strategic flexibility and technological capability is also noted. The study also develops a framework for successful implementation of I 4.0.

This study can be used by managers while implementing I 4.0 to devise a strategic roadmap for acquiring technological capability with I 4.0 technologies. Besides, it will help the managers to consider the bidirectional relationship between technological capability and strategic flexibility while formulating I 4.0 strategy for successful implementation of I 4.0 in their organizations.

Previous studies have examined the importance of I 4.0 technologies. However, this study extends the previous works by suggesting how technological capability and strategic flexibility can help in the successful implementation of I 4.0.