# Integrating Sustainable Performance into the Digital Maturity Models for SMEs in Manufacturing
## 4 Discussion
### Contribution  
Although the ultimate goal is to understand the impact of each dimension of I4.0 on each aspect of sustainable performance, it was first necessary to break down and analyse the model as a whole to fully grasp how each element could be measured and integrated. The objective of the literature review was therefore to identify and group relevant indicators from the literature to bridge the gap between digital maturity measurement and sustainable performance measurement. The first step toward achieving this objective was confirming the hypothesis. Indeed, the indicators found in Figure 4 support that it was possible to identify and reorganise sustainable performance indicators within the context of DT in the literature to establish a list of key factors. The second step in achieving the objective was consolidating the results from the previous figure with the conceptual framework presented in the methodology by adding the identified indicator categories. As in Figure 2, the left side of the conceptual framework integrates the model from [26] to help bridge the gap between digital maturity and sustainable performance. The conceptual framework in Figure 5 presents a proposal to improve traditional digital maturity models by integrating sustainable performance indicators, enabling a better measurement of DT outcomes in SMMEs. Unlike Figure 2, which presents a high-level conceptual model, Figure 5 provides a detailed breakdown of how each sustainability dimension is represented through specific indicators, offering a more practical tool for assessment. This figure's framework uses the original model from [26] as an example, which, on its own, already enables measurement of independent variables in a DT. However, as with other models, the authors do not measure the direct effect of these variables on the economic, social, and environmental benefits sought by SMMEs, but the proposed approach provides a new way to align digital maturity assessment with sustainability outcomes--a perspective that goes beyond a simple literature review by introducing an integrated framework specifically tailored for SMMEs. The integration of the dependent variables found in this work with the independent variables of existing models allows for a comprehensive view of the relationship between digital maturity dimensions and benefits. This approach will not only enable measurement of digital maturity but also evaluation of its impact on the economic, social, and environmental benefits of sustainable performance. In other words, this new conceptual framework contributes to addressing the gap between digital maturity and sustainable performance while also allowing identification of the impact of each dimension of I4.0 on the benefits sought by companies. However, while this framework provides a structured approach, its effectiveness remains to be empirically validated. Future research should focus on testing its applicability through case studies, surveys, or experimental applications within manufacturing SMMEs. By structuring the relationships between maturity dimensions and sustainable performance indicators, this study lays the groundwork for further refinement and empirical validation in real-world settings. The results of this article provide a general overview of existing indicators in the literature for measuring sustainable performance. Other authors also attempt to bridge the gap between digital maturity and sustainable performance, demonstrating the relevance and timeliness of the proposed issue. However, most of these authors only offer a specific perspective that does not necessarily include all three dimensions of sustainable performance, or they provide a list of facilitators and barriers related to I4.0 that does not allow for measuring the impact of I4.0 on sustainable performance. A few authors who come close to this research achieve similar results. For example, ref. [34] proposes a framework highlighting indicators of I4.0 and sustainable development dimensions.