Abstract: Digital intelligence technology with big data analytics and artificial intelligence (BDA-AI) as its core has the unique potential of comprehensively enabling sustainable manufacturing (SM) and circular economy (CE). The synergetic development of BDA-AI is an important trend in the current development of global production systems. However, the existing researches on BDA-AI are still focused on the technical level, lacking empirical researches and little attention is paid to its enabling effect on SM and CE. Based on institutional theory, resource-based view, organizational culture and dynamic capability view, a cross domain research model of BDA-AI enabling SM and CE is developed; the primary data of 231 enterprises in China’s equipment manufacturing industry are collected, and the PLS-SEM method is used for empirical test. The results show that external institutional pressures (coercive pressures, normative pressures and mimetic pressures) promote the adoption of BDA-AI by influencing the allocation of internal organizational resources (tangible resources and workforce skills); BDA-AI has a significant enabling effect on SM and CE; big data culture, environmental dynamism and organizational flexibility play significant moderating effects in the model paths.

Key words: big data analytics, artificial intelligence, sustainable manufacturing, circular economy, enabling effect