Digital transformation (DT) is crucial for SMEs to streamline operational efficiency, foster innovation, and meet upcoming challenges. Integrating sustainability into this process not only enhances a company’s reputation but also attracts customers and investors who value environmental responsibility. Despite this opportunity, many SMEs operate without clear plans and strategies. The literature review identified a lack of roadmaps that integrate sustainability into the digital transformation process for SMEs. Thus, this paper aims to propose a sustainable digital transformation roadmap for SMEs that evaluates their digital maturity and facilitates gradual implementation in alignment with their strategic objectives. A systematic literature review using the Methodi Ordinatio defined six key dimensions of digital transformation. Consequently, the SDT-SMEs Roadmap was developed, drawing on ISO/IEC 33000 standards to offer well-defined processes for enhancing digital competencies. The roadmap features three organizational planning levels—strategic, tactical, and operational—and includes a maturity model that evaluates 75 processes across six dimensions: Digital Technologies, Customer Focus, Organizational Culture, Organizational Governance, People, and Sustainability. Validation through a case study confirmed the roadmap’s effectiveness in addressing real-world challenges and guiding SMEs through the digitization process. The SDT-SMEs Roadmap provides a comprehensive and integrated approach, ensuring continuous adaptation and improvement in sustainable digital transformation efforts. This roadmap addresses a significant gap in the literature and presents a practical, strategic, and adaptable pathway for SMEs embarking on their digital transformation journeys.

Sustainable digital transformation in SMEs not only simplifies operations and increases efficiency but also fosters innovation, facilitates data-driven decision-making, and minimizes negative environmental and social impacts, paving the way for a sustainable competitive advantage in the digital age. However, SMEs still face significant barriers to implementing this transformation. In addition to limited financial resources, a critical obstacle is the lack of specific and comprehensible roadmaps. Thus, this paper aims to analyze existing roadmaps for sustainable digital transformation in SMEs. A systematic literature review was conducted using the PRISMA and Methodi Ordinatio methods, with data collection and analysis performed using the NVivo 12 and VOSviewer software (version 1.6.20). Content analysis was used to assess how these papers align with the study’s context. The analysis identified whether the roadmaps address aspects related to the triple bottom line (TBL), their specificity to SMEs, the principles of digital transformation they incorporate, and the aspect of digital maturity. The findings indicate that none of the current literature provides a fully developed roadmap for sustainable digital transformation in SMEs. Consequently, future studies are suggested to develop a comprehensive roadmap that addresses these issues. Finally, this study highlights the main gaps and opportunities in each studied roadmap and formulates 14 research questions divided into six categories for future investigation. Addressing these questions can help close the current gaps in the literature and provide SMEs with robust, adaptable, and sustainable digital transformation strategies.

After performing a systematic review of the literature, it was noticeable that the discussion regarding Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) along with Knowledge and Technology Transfer (KTT) and Innovation is scarce. To address this issue, the objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship between GSCM, KTT, and Innovation. To achieve this purpose, we developed a conceptual framework based on the literature review, which raised some hypotheses. In order to verify the hypotheses and validate the framework, we designed a multicriteria model called the KTT-GSCM Multicriteria Model, composed of two stages. The first stage describes factors that are relevant to GSCM, KTT, and Innovation, ascertaining which ones have influence over the others and which ones are influenced by the others, through the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method. The second stage of the model analyzes the level of each perspective in each company and in the supply chain as a whole, thus verifying the hypotheses. This model was applied in 13 firms of a supply chain that has a rotomolding firm as a focal company. Through the development and application of the model, it was possible to verify the hypotheses raised and conclude that the perspectives of GSCM, KTT, and Innovation are, in fact, influenced by one another and that both Innovation and KTT promote greater development in GSCM.

This paper explores the transformative potential of digital platforms in fostering resilient and intelligent urban environments, a critical need considering rapid urbanization and climate change. Through a comparative analysis of various digital platforms in global cities, this study identifies their role in enhancing operational efficiency, participatory governance, and urban innovation. Utilizing a structured maturity model based on the ISO 37123 standard for resilient communities, this research highlights the specific challenges faced by cities at different stages of digital transformation and provides practical recommendations for implementing digital solutions that integrate resilience, sustainability, and smart governance. The analysis underscores the importance of aligning digital platform development with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), offering a pathway for cities to enhance resilience, optimize resource use, and promote citizen engagement.

Industry 4.0 represents an enormous potential for organizations, but its successful implementation requires a thorough analysis of Technology Transfer (TT) activities. This paper’s purpose is (1) to build on the state-of-the-art literature on Industry 4.0 and Technology Transfer, (2) to identify key characteristics of recent studies, (3) to develop a framework illustrating the relationship between Technology Transfer and Industry 4.0 and demonstrate its practical application in companies. For that purpose, the databases Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Scopus were selected for the search of relevant papers on industry 4.0 and technology transfer. This search encompassed the 2010 to 2022 period and, after the application of the Methodi Ordinatio, a total of 70 papers were analyzed. The review examined the publication timeline, leading publishers, geographical distribution, keyword co-occurrence, and clusters. Based on this literature review, a framework that presents how the influence of technology transfer facilitates the Industry 4.0 implementation process was elaborated, named the I4.0-TT framework. The results show that Technology Transfer, jointly with 4.0 concepts and technologies, acts in five dimensions (People, Process, Technology, Strategy and Organization, and Integration). Applying these five dimensions and their respective components leads to the so-called Industry 4.0. Therefore, the conclusion reached is that Technology Transfer reveals itself as a support to apply 4.0 concepts and technologies in the organization.

Brazilian startups play an important role in seeking technological solutions for sustainable smart cities. While progress has been made, there are still challenges to overcome. Collaboration between the public and private sectors, coupled with an entrepreneurial-friendly environment, can drive the development of innovative and efficient solutions to address urban challenges and promote smart cities aligned with 17th sustainable development goals (Gue et al., 2020; Niestroy, 2016; Ramirez et al., 2019). This article analyzes how Brazilian startups are contributing to sustainable development in smart cities and fills an academic gap by providing specific market data analysis in Brazil. Based on scientific articles and the Smart City Report Distrito 2020 startup survey, specific studies on startups promoting solutions for sustainable smart 2 cities were not found, but an increase in global interest in this topic was observed (Distrito, 2020). However, a gap was identified in solutions for municipal governance and administration, with only 10% of startups focusing their efforts on serving governments (Distrito, 2020). This indicates that the country is still in the early stages of implementing smart cities. While some areas such as mobility and energy already have a significant number of solutions, there are opportunities to stimulate the development of startups addressing other sustainable development goals. The importance of favorable public policies, private investments, and an integrated and collaborative approach to urban governance is emphasized.