A Conceptual Framework Linking Industry 4.0 Technologies Adoption to Competitive Advantage: Mediating Roles of Circular Economy and Sustainable Manufacturing in Thailand's Electrical and Electronics Industry

Abstract
The contemporary industrial landscape demands that firms must address the dual imperative of adopting Industry 4.0 Technologies (I4.0T) to enhance competitive advantage (CA) simultaneously promoting sustainable performance. However, despite the recognized direct benefits of I4.0T, a significant theoretical gap exists concerning the specific mechanism through which I40T adoption creates sustained competitive advantage, especially within emerging economies such as Thailand's Electrical and Electronics industry. To address this, this study develops a novel conceptual framework grounded in the Resource-Based View (RBV), Natural Resource-Based View (NRBV), and Dynamic Capabilities (DC) theories. The proposed framework asserts that Circular Economy (CE) and Sustainable Manufacturing (SM) practices serve as crucial dynamic capabilities, sequentially mediating the link between I4.0T adoption and Competitive Advantage (CA). This paper argues a theoretically robust model, derived from existing literature, that clarifies the strategic roadmap for implementing I4.0T to drive Circular Economy (CE) implementation, leading to sustainable manufacturing and enhanced Competitive Advantage (CA) in emerging markets, thereby serving as a foundation for future empirical research. [Note: This paper presents the conceptual foundation of an ongoing research project, the empirical findings of which are currently under journal review. The present version focuses exclusively on the theoretical reasoning and conceptual model development, without including any methodological details, empirical analysis, or results.] Keywords - Circular Economy, Competitive Advantage, Industry 4.0 Technologies, Sustainable Manufacturing.