The Impact of Smart Manufacturing Capabilities on Business Model Innovation in Manufacturing Enterprises

With the rapid growth of the global economy and ongoing technological advancements, smart manufacturing has become a vital force driving industrial transformation. This study investigates how smart manufacturing capability influences business model innovation (BMI) in manufacturing enterprises. It further examines the mediating role of new productive forces and the moderating effect of patient capital in this relationship. Despite the significance of smart manufacturing, existing research offers limited insight into its impact on BMI. To address this gap, this study collected data from manufacturing firms across various industries through a questionnaire survey. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and hierarchical regression analysis. The results show that smart manufacturing capability significantly promotes BMI. This indicates that advancements in smart manufacturing can drive innovation by optimizing production processes, improving resource efficiency, and enhancing market responsiveness. Moreover, new productive forces serve as a key mediator in this relationship, suggesting that enhanced smart manufacturing capabilities improve firms' production efficiency and innovation capacity, thereby facilitating business model transformation. Patient capital also plays a significant moderating role, demonstrating that long-term resource investment and strategic persistence amplify the positive effects of smart manufacturing on innovation. To ensure the rigor of the study, four robustness checks were conducted: substitute variable tests, subsample analyses, lag effect tests, and multicollinearity diagnostics. All results confirmed the stability of the core conclusions. This study provides a new theoretical perspective on the relationship between smart manufacturing and BMI. It also offers empirical support for research on technology enablement in engineering management and provides practical guidance for the digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises.