Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Digitalization's Double Role in Driving Sustainable Transition
基于1334家欧洲中小制造企业数据，研究发现数字化既能分散管理者对可持续性障碍的注意力，也能在可持续性成为优先事项时帮助识别和缓解这些障碍。
ABSTRACT This paper investigates the role of digitalization in overcoming organizational barriers to sustainability. Drawing on the attention‐based view (ABV) theory, the study examines how digitalization, as a contextual condition, shapes the allocation of managerial attention, influences the perception of sustainability barriers, and ultimately affects decision‐making regarding sustainability adoption. Using data from 1334 SMEs manufacturing taken from the Flash Eurobarometer 486 Survey and applying fractional logit models, the findings show that digitalization exerts both direct and indirect effects on sustainability adoption by altering attention structures. In particular, digitally enabled information environments and performance monitoring systems may redirect managerial attention toward efficiency and short‐term operational priorities, potentially making sustainability barriers less salient. However, when sustainability is embedded within organizational priorities, digitalization may support the identification and mitigation of such barriers. These findings highlight the dual and contingent role of digitalization and indicate the importance of balancing competing attentional demands in manufacturing firms.