International Journal of Technology Management & Sustainable Development - Volume 25, Issue 1, 2026

Decarbonizing the steel industry is crucial for carbon neutrality. New strategies and technologies are helping reduce emissions, while current analyses of abatement benefits take into account the impact of different technology shares on abatement potential, they often overlook the knowledge base of technological innovation, as well as the availability and practicality of these technologies. This limitation hinders steel enterprises from accurately identifying technological gaps and effectively deploying decarbonization technologies. Therefore, this article introduces a quantitative tool called the ‘Emerging Technology Factor’. It evaluates innovation knowledge and integrates it into steel industry carbon abatement analysis, boosting efficiency by 4.66 per cent on average. Under various scenarios, decarbonization technologies can reduce emissions by 406 million to 822 million tons, though at a significant cost. Technologies like BECCS for BF–BOF, Ammonia-DRI-EAF and H2-DRI-EAF show high potential and cost-effectiveness, making them top choices for future deployment.

In light of growing concern regarding the planet’s environmental future, it is important for companies to prioritize sustainable development (SD) in their digital transformation (DT) initiatives, driving growth that is both environmentally responsible and technologically advanced. The aim of this study is to document and synthesize the trends in the field of DT and SD over the period of time. By analysing 976 Scopus-indexed documents, the review uncovers a rapidly growing body of literature. The literature is globally diverse, with notable contributions from both developing and developed countries. Citation analysis identified key authors and influential works that have played an important role in shaping this field. An author co-citation analysis and keyword co-occurrence analysis support these findings, highlighting the conceptual framework of the DT and SD domain. The systematic process of mapping and analysing data helps identify key research areas, crucial research topics, the evolution of publications over time, countries, collaboration across authors, co-occurrence of authors’ keywords and potential avenues for future research. A lot of individuals in the field are directly affected by this study, for instance, consultants, managers and policy-makers.

To support literacy development and personalized learning, digital devices have become integral to modern education. Despite their educational benefits, digital environments also carry the risk of exposing users to harmful content. To address this issue, the study applies design science and constructive research methodology to develop a systems framework. The research is carried out in phases, involving stakeholder interviews, a review of content monitoring practices and the creation of an artefact-based solution informed by experts in curriculum design, educational technology, cybersecurity and policy development. The framework centres on the digital citizenship curriculum and is supported by enablers like allow listed device, policy directives, digital public infrastructure and monitoring toolkit, which collectively ensure end-to-end security. To ensure rigour and relevance, the framework is evaluated against established information systems models and structured using the human–technical–environmental systems framework.

Zero-waste (ZW) lifestyle has gained global momentum, yet its actual adoption remains limited. This study explores the perceived adoption barriers of ZW lifestyle by analysing YouTube comments through a netnographic approach. Comments were thematically analysed to uncover common barriers to ZW living, as well as the emotional and psychological responses related to those perceived barriers. Findings reveal three major adoption barriers: inaccessibility, unaffordability and unsuitability of ZW alternatives. Aspirants often demonstrate strong motivation, even making extra efforts and logistical sacrifices, but these efforts collapse when multiple barriers converge. This inability to realize aspirations translate into helplessness, frustration, guilt, resignation, while simultaneously provokes calls for accountability and sparks scepticism towards providers and regulators. Nevertheless, some aspirants take pragmatic stances, finding small, incremental, self-driven approaches to advance their ZW aspirations. The study contributes methodologically by utilizing user comments to present an adaptive, non-canonized and context-driven examination of ZW lifestyle adoption barriers. It also contributes theoretically by presenting manifestation of perceived barriers through unfiltered voices of its aspirants, thus uncovering how these barriers are experienced, negotiated and contested in everyday life. This nuanced insights into perceived barriers also provide practitioners practical guide for aligning ZW alternatives with the lived realities of ZW lifestyle aspirants.