FROM MANUAL TO SMART: HOW LEVELS OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADOPTION INFLUENCE SUSTANABLE OUTCOMES; THE CASE OF TEXTILE SEMS

Abstract

This study investigates how sustainability standardisation impacts small and medium-scale textile manufacturers in Sri Lanka's export sector, with specific attention to the mediating role of technology in achieving social, environmental, and economic sustainability outcomes. In global textile supply chains, compliance with sustainability frameworks such as SMETA, SEDEX, and the Higg Index has become essential, yet SMEs frequently face compliance challenges due to resource limitations. Using a qualitative multiple-case study approach, three SMEs with different levels of technological adoption were examined through interviews and observations. The findings indicate a strong positive relationship between technology adoption and social as well as environmental sustainability, reflected in improvements in worker wellbeing, occupational safety, and waste reduction. Economic sustainability, however, demonstrated a plateau effect, where returns diminished beyond a certain point of technological investment. While technology was widely perceived as a transformative enabler, barriers such as capital constraints, limited leadership vision, and insufficient awareness restricted uptake. The study contributes to sustainability scholarship by extending prior research on large-scale manufacturers to SMEs in a developing economy context, providing nuanced insights into the dimension-specific effects of technology. Practically, the findings highlight the need for strategic and context-sensitive technological adoption, as well as leadership and policy support, to bridge the technology gap and help SMEs meet global sustainability expectations. Despite the study's limited number of cases, it offers an original perspective on the non-linear relationship between technology and sustainability in export-oriented SMEs.