**4. Discussion and Implications**

In this conceptual article, we have focused on the adoption of CT in EM since 2000. At the beginning, we introduced the key conceptual pillars of CT (and CAS). Subsequently, because of its status of being a leading journal in the field, we chose *IEEE-TEM* as a reliable, heuristic proxy to analyze and discuss those publications formally, and/or substantially, referring to complexity approaches. Therefore, we can synthesize the results from our analysis into the following three main evidences.

First, from 2000, the adoption of CT in EM has been associated with a wide range of key themes in the field. NPD, SCM, and PM prevail. At the same time, a considerable number of observations also regards team productivity, competitive capabilities in (technological) environments, and intraorganizational communication.

Second, this adoption was seen in an increasing amount of publications, especially if we consider the years 2011 to 2019. Conceptual modeling developed through a wide-range of techniques largely prevails in our dataset, then quantitatively tested in various (almost hi-tech based) industrial settings. This, again, also appears in line with the plurality and heterogeneity of analytical tools and (high-tech) settings traditionally employed in EM [47]. At the same time, the common feature among these techniques is that they are mostly based on fuzzy logics, stochastic modeling, or ABM.

Third, many key ingredients of CT seem to be quite clearly observable in the analyzed publications. Accordingly, modeling and optimizing DM under uncertainty results as the dominant theme; this theme, at the same time, is not only often associated with the mentioned fuzzy logics, stochastic modeling, and ABM, but also with non-linear and/or evolutionary dynamics. Perhaps surprisingly, however, only a limited number of studies still seems to formally adhere to CT to explain the various EM issues under investigation.

From what is summarized above, some implications for EM (concerning the research in and practice on sustainability issues) can also be derived. These implications are exposed below, sequentially ordered per item of focus.
