PurposeThis　study　explores　the　adoption　of　Industry　4.0　in　developing　countries＇　export　industries,　focusing　on　factors　influencing　this　adoption,　the　moderating　role　of　market　pressure　and　prioritizing　key　factors　for　sustainable　growth.Design/methodology/approachBased　on　the　＂TOE　theory＂　this　study　has　proposed　a　research　framework　to　identify　the　factors　influencing　the　adoption　and　sustainable　implementation　of　Industry　4.0　in　the　export　industry.　This　study　has　collected　valid　datasets　from　387　export-oriented　industries　and　applied　SEM-ANN　dual-stage　hybrid　model　to　capture　linear　and　nonlinear　interaction　between　variables.FindingsResults　revealed　that　Technical　Capabilities,　System　Flexibility,　Software　Infrastructure,　Human　Resource　Competency　and　Market　pressure　significantly　influence　the　Adoption　of　Industry　4.0.　Higher　market　pressure　as　a　moderator　also　improves　the　Industry　4.0　adoption　process.　Results　also　pointed　out　that　system　flexibility　is　a　gray　area　in　Industry　4.0　adoption,　which　can　be　enhanced　in　the　export　industry　to　maintain　a　sustainable　adoption　and　implementation　of　Industry　4.0.Originality/valueMinute　information　is　available　on　the　factors　influencing　the　adoption　of　Industry　4.0　in　export-oriented　industries.　This　study　has　empirically　explored　the　role　of　influential　factors　in　Industry　4.0　and　ranked　them　based　on　their　normalized　importance.