Technological progress as a catalyst for energy efficiency : a sustainable technology perspective

The construction industry has a crucial place in any country's economy. However, compared to other sectors, construction companies have been relatively slow to adopt new technologies, while most companies in different sectors have already begun to adopt the latest technologies to renovate their way of doing business and improve their overall performance. Therefore, Construction 4.0, as the digital transformation of construction companies in the era of Industry 4.0, attracts the attention of both practitioners and researchers. This empirical study aims to uncover the complex relations among Construction 4.0, Business Model Innovation (BMI), and firm performance in a developing country context. We propose an original model of relations purporting that BMI mediates the positive effects of Construction 4.0 on firm performance, drawing mainly on the dynamic capabilities view. All statistical analyses were performed by using R statistical language. Data was gathered from 152 managers in the Turkish construction sector via the convenience sampling method. Descriptive statistics, validity, reliability, correlation, and PROCESS mediation analyses were used to test research hypotheses. The results show that both digital and physical layers of Construction 4.0 positively relate to firm performance and that BMI fully mediates this positive relation. Managerial and further research implications are forwarded.Enhancing energy efficiency through sustainable technological progress is imperative for pursuing sustainable development, particularly in developing countries where economic growth is strongly linked to higher energy consumption. In Tunisia, an open and developing economy, fossil energy consumption can be reduced without compromising economic growth by focusing on diminishing energy intensity. This study investigates the effects of technological progress on the overall energy intensity in Tunisia from 1980 to 2019, examining the role that technological advancements may play in attaining sustainable development goals. This study is based on a growth accounting model that uses time-series analysis and a cointegration estimation approach. Our empirical results suggest the presence of a long-term connection between the variables. The attainment of enhanced energy efficiency is contingent on the growth rate of technological progress, which should exceed capital and labor productivity. The results reveal that the net impact of technological advancements is estimated at -0.0163, which signifies that aggregate energy intensity tends to decrease by an annual average of 1.63% in the long term. These findings underscore the need for developing economies to restructure their energy policies and support sustainable technological initiatives and green entrepreneurship. Developing countries can reduce their energy intensity while boosting their economic growth by fostering technological innovation. This study demonstrates how technological progress and green entrepreneurship can be leveraged to enhance energy efficiency and drive sustainable development in developing nations.