The digital divide in green logistics transformation: Why Industry 4.0 benefits large firms more than SMEs in Vietnam?

Digital transformation is widely regarded as a pathway to greener logistics, yet its benefits may be unevenly distributed across firms. This study examines whether Industry 4.0 adoption creates a digital divide in green logistics between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large firms, and identifies where this divide emerges within the causal process. Integrating digital divide theory with the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities perspective, the study distinguishes among access, capability, and outcome divides. The proposed relationships are tested using a stratified sample of 205 Vietnamese firms, complemented by 15 expert interviews. The findings show that large firms adopt Industry 4.0 technologies more extensively than SMEs and convert such adoption into green logistics capabilities more effectively (β = 0.68 vs. 0.42; interaction p = 0.002), resulting in significantly stronger indirect effects on firm performance. However, the effect of green logistics capability on performance does not differ significantly by firm size. These results indicate that the digital divide is concentrated primarily in capability formation rather than in the subsequent exploitation of green logistics capabilities.