As manufacturing companies confront mounting environmental, social, and economic challenges, digital transformation emerges as a vital enabler of sustainability. However, achieving meaningful impact requires more than adopting advanced technologies—it demands collaborative approaches that embed sustainability into the core of industrial value chain. This thesis explores the twin transition—the integration of digital transformation and sustainability—by investigating how value co-creation and collaboration between manufacturing companies and technology solution providers (TSPs), as well as among TSPs themselves, contribute to sustainable production.

To address this, the thesis develops a conceptual value co-creation framework that highlights how digital technologies can drive sustainability through collaborative efforts among manufacturers, technology solution providers, and other key stakeholders. Based on empirical insights from Papers 1 to 5, the framework is presented as a value constellation, in which manufacturers and TSPs collaborate to adopt tailored digital solutions that derive sustainability. This approach shifts the focus from fragmented or isolated initiatives toward a collaborative value constellation, where digital technologies are applied to improve operational performance and contribute to environmental and social outcomes.

The empirical studies presented in Papers 1 to 5 demonstrate that both manufacturers and TSPs encounter a range of challenges in pursuing sustainability. Papers 1 and 3 identify internal constraints within TSPs, including limited financial and human resources, a predominant emphasis on short-term customer demands, and difficulties in allocating resources toward sustainability-focused research and development. In addition, Papers 3 and 5 highlight several external challenges, such as low market demand for sustainable solutions, fragmented or inconsistent regulatory requirements, and the absence of effective policy incentives. Paper 5 further reveals that cultural resistance and organisational inertia—particularly within manufacturing companies—pose significant obstacles to the adoption of long-term sustainability practices. The findings in Papers 2 and 3 suggest that collaborative networks can play a critical role in addressing these challenges. By facilitating knowledge exchange, distributing investment risks, and promoting alignment of innovation strategies, such networks offer a means to support more coordinated and effective approaches to sustainability across the manufacturing and TSP value chain.

Paper 5 further reveals that while digital technologies are often used in operational improvements, they are much less commonly applied in strategic planning or in tracking and improving sustainability performance over time. This gap points to a need for a more comprehensive approach that applies digital tools across all phases of sustainability implementation—from planning and execution to monitoring and continuous improvement.

This thesis contributes a model that brings together theoretical insights and empirical findings to support the twin transition, with a particular focus on how manufacturers and TSPs can collaborate to drive meaningful, sustainability. 

The thesis framework is built upon three foundational pillars: (1) leveraging strategic use of digital transformation to foster sustainability into both technological and non-technological innovation processes, (2) advocating inter-organizational collaboration through stakeholder engagement fosters aligned digital and sustainability efforts, and (3) embedding value co-creation as a systemic approach across interconnected actors to drive sustainability. By synthesizing theoretical and empirical insights, this research contributes to the fields of innovation management, digital transformation, and sustainability studies. It offers both conceptual clarity and practical guidance for companies seeking to navigate the twin transition.