IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v146y2019icp119-132.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Driving forces and barriers of Industry 4.0: Do multinational and small and medium-sized companies have equal opportunities?

Author

Listed:
  • Horváth, Dóra
  • Szabó, Roland Zs.

Abstract

The Fourth Industrial Revolution poses significant challenges to manufacturing companies from the technological, organizational and management points of view. This paper aims to explore how top executives interpret the concept of Industry 4.0, the driving forces for introducing new technologies and the main barriers to Industry 4.0. The authors applied a qualitative case study design involving 26 semi-structured interviews with leading members of firms, including chief digital officers and chief executive officers. Company websites and annual reports were also examined to increase the reliability and validity of the results. The authors found that management desire to increase control and enable real-time performance measurement is a significant driving force behind Industry 4.0, alongside production factors. Organizational resistance at both employee and middle management levels can significantly hinder the introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies, though these technologies can also transform management functions. Multinational enterprises have higher driving forces and lower barriers to industry 4.0 than small and medium-sized companies, but these smaller companies have good opportunities, too.

Suggested Citation

  • Horváth, Dóra & Szabó, Roland Zs., 2019. "Driving forces and barriers of Industry 4.0: Do multinational and small and medium-sized companies have equal opportunities?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 119-132.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:146:y:2019:i:c:p:119-132
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2019.05.021
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162518315737
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2019.05.021?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jarillo, J. Carlos, 1989. "Entrepreneurship and growth: the strategic use of external resources," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 133-147, March.
    2. Hess, Thomas & Matt, Christian & Benlian, Alexander & Wiesböck, Florian, 2016. "Options for Formulating a Digital Transformation Strategy," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 81032, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    3. Livia TOANCA, 2016. "Empirical Research Regarding the Importance of Digital Transformation for Romanian SMEs," Management and Economics Review, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 1(2), pages 92-108, December.
    4. Müller, Julian Marius & Buliga, Oana & Voigt, Kai-Ingo, 2018. "Fortune favors the prepared: How SMEs approach business model innovations in Industry 4.0," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 2-17.
    5. Marta Götz & Barbara Jankowska, 2017. "Clusters and Industry 4.0 – do they fit together?," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(9), pages 1633-1653, September.
    6. Yuri Mishina & Timothy G. Pollock & Joseph F. Porac, 2004. "Are more resources always better for growth? Resource stickiness in market and product expansion," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(12), pages 1179-1197, December.
    7. Takács, Olga & Losonci, Dávid & Demeter, Krisztina, 2019. "Az ipar 4.0 hatásainak nyomában - a magyarországi járműipar elemzése [After the effects of Industry 4.0: an analysis of the Hungarian vehicle industry]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(2), pages 185-218.
    8. Daniel Kiel & Julian M. Müller & Christian Arnold & Kai-Ingo Voigt, 2017. "Sustainable Industrial Value Creation: Benefits And Challenges Of Industry 4.0," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(08), pages 1-34, December.
    9. Ivana Acocella, 2012. "The focus groups in social research: advantages and disadvantages," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 1125-1136, June.
    10. Hess, Thomas & Matt, Christian & Benlian, Alexander & Wiesböck, Florian, 2016. "Options for Formulating a Digital Transformation Strategy," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 82423, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    11. de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz Lopes & Jabbour, Charbel Jose Chiappetta & Foropon, Cyril & Godinho Filho, Moacir, 2018. "When titans meet – Can industry 4.0 revolutionise the environmentally-sustainable manufacturing wave? The role of critical success factors," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 18-25.
    12. Robert M. Wiseman & Philip Bromiley, 1996. "Toward a Model of Risk in Declining Organizations: An Empirical Examination of Risk, Performance and Decline," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(5), pages 524-543, October.
    13. Matt, C. & Hess, Thomas & Benlian, Alexander, 2015. "Digital Transformation Strategies," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 75002, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    14. Christian Matt & Thomas Hess & Alexander Benlian, 2015. "Digital Transformation Strategies," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 57(5), pages 339-343, October.
    15. Paulo N. Figueiredo, 2011. "The Role of Dual Embeddedness in the Innovative Performance of MNE Subsidiaries: Evidence from Brazil," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 417-440, March.
    16. Michael Segal, 2018. "How automation is changing work," Nature, Nature, vol. 563(7733), pages 132-135, November.
    17. Matt, C. & Hess, Thomas & Benlian, Alexander, 2015. "Digital Transformation Strategies," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 75202, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    18. Frank, Alejandro G. & Mendes, Glauco H.S. & Ayala, Néstor F. & Ghezzi, Antonio, 2019. "Servitization and Industry 4.0 convergence in the digital transformation of product firms: A business model innovation perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 341-351.
    19. Sung, Tae Kyung, 2018. "Industry 4.0: A Korea perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 40-45.
    20. Kiel, Daniel & Arnold, Christian & Voigt, Kai-Ingo, 2017. "The influence of the Industrial Internet of Things on business models of established manufacturing companies – A business level perspective," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 4-19.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yanhua Zhou & Zilong Li, 2024. "Research on the Activation Path of Employees’ Openness to Digital Transformation: A New Impetus to Realize Enterprises’ Digital Transformation for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-20, May.
    2. Xiao Han & Yang Zheng, 2022. "Driving Elements of Enterprise Digital Transformation Based on the Perspective of Dynamic Evolution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-19, August.
    3. Kinkel, Steffen & Baumgartner, Marco & Cherubini, Enrica, 2022. "Prerequisites for the adoption of AI technologies in manufacturing – Evidence from a worldwide sample of manufacturing companies," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    4. Dag Øivind Madsen, 2019. "The Emergence and Rise of Industry 4.0 Viewed through the Lens of Management Fashion Theory," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-25, September.
    5. Yang Yu & Fangrong Ren & Yun Ju & Jingyi Zhang & Xiaoyan Liu, 2024. "Exploring the Role of Digital Transformation and Breakthrough Innovation in Enhanced Performance of Energy Enterprises: Fresh Evidence for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-22, January.
    6. El Bhilat, El Mehdi & El Jaouhari, Asmae & Hamidi, L. Saadia, 2024. "Assessing the influence of artificial intelligence on agri-food supply chain performance: the mediating effect of distribution network efficiency," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    7. Wong, David T.W. & Ngai, Eric W.T., 2023. "The impact of advanced manufacturing technology, sensing and analytics capabilities, and planning comprehensiveness on sustained competitive advantage: The moderating role of environmental uncertainty," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    8. Beier, Grischa & Matthess, Marcel & Shuttleworth, Luke & Guan, Ting & de Oliveira Pereira Grudzien, David Iubel & Xue, Bing & Pinheiro de Lima, Edson & Chen, Ling, 2022. "Implications of Industry 4.0 on industrial employment: A comparative survey from Brazilian, Chinese, and German practitioners," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    9. Junru Chen & Lei Shen, 2024. "A Synthetic Review on Enterprise Digital Transformation: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-20, February.
    10. Zhao, Guoqing & Xie, Xiaotian & Wang, Yi & Liu, Shaofeng & Jones, Paul & Lopez, Carmen, 2024. "Barrier analysis to improve big data analytics capability of the maritime industry: A mixed-method approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    11. Yanlin Sun & Shaoxiong Ma & Hao Feng, 2023. "The New Geography of Manufacturing in China: The Internet and Manufacturing Agglomeration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-21, August.
    12. Chowdhury, Soumyadeb & Budhwar, Pawan & Dey, Prasanta Kumar & Joel-Edgar, Sian & Abadie, Amelie, 2022. "AI-employee collaboration and business performance: Integrating knowledge-based view, socio-technical systems and organisational socialisation framework," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 31-49.
    13. Nguyen, Phuong Ngoc-Duy & Nguyen, Huan Hong, 2024. "Unveiling the link between digital entrepreneurship education and intention among university students in an emerging economy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    14. Zhong, Xi & Ren, Ge, 2023. "Independent and joint effects of CSR and CSI on the effectiveness of digital transformation for transition economy firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    15. Bilgen, Hakki, 2021. "A global comparison methodology to determine critical requirements for achieving industry 4.0," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    16. Justy, Théo & Pellegrin-Boucher, Estelle & Lescop, Denis & Granata, Julien & Gupta, Shivam, 2023. "On the edge of Big Data: Drivers and barriers to data analytics adoption in SMEs," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    17. Calış Duman, Meral & Akdemir, Bunyamin, 2021. "A study to determine the effects of industry 4.0 technology components on organizational performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Coskun-Setirek, Abide & Tanrikulu, Zuhal, 2021. "Digital innovations-driven business model regeneration: A process model," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    2. Burström, Thommie & Parida, Vinit & Lahti, Tom & Wincent, Joakim, 2021. "AI-enabled business-model innovation and transformation in industrial ecosystems: A framework, model and outline for further research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 85-95.
    3. Blanka, Christine & Krumay, Barbara & Rueckel, David, 2022. "The interplay of digital transformation and employee competency: A design science approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    4. Satı, Zümrüt Ecevit, 2024. "Comparison of the criteria affecting the digital innovation performance of the European Union (EU) member and candidate countries with the entropy weight-TOPSIS method and investigation of its importa," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    5. Marino-Romero, Jorge Alberto & Palos-Sánchez, Pedro R. & Velicia-Martín, Félix, 2024. "Evolution of digital transformation in SMEs management through a bibliometric analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    6. Mariani, Marcello & Borghi, Matteo, 2019. "Industry 4.0: A bibliometric review of its managerial intellectual structure and potential evolution in the service industries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    7. Swen Nadkarni & Reinhard Prügl, 2021. "Digital transformation: a review, synthesis and opportunities for future research," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 71(2), pages 233-341, April.
    8. Ander, Veronika & Cihelka, Petr & Tyrychtr, Jan & Novák, David, 2022. "Towards Compromise User Experience Design in Ambient Intelligent Environment," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 14(2), June.
    9. Sascha Kraus & Paul Jones & Norbert Kailer & Alexandra Weinmann & Nuria Chaparro-Banegas & Norat Roig-Tierno, 2021. "Digital Transformation: An Overview of the Current State of the Art of Research," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, September.
    10. Piepponen, Amanda & Ritala, Paavo & Keränen, Joona & Maijanen, Päivi, 2022. "Digital transformation of the value proposition: A single case study in the media industry," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 311-325.
    11. Florian Wiesböck & Thomas Hess, 2020. "Digital innovations," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 30(1), pages 75-86, March.
    12. Jinkai Liang & Ke Du & Dandan Chen, 2023. "The Effect of Digitalization on Ambidextrous Innovation in Manufacturing Enterprises: A Perspective of Empowering and Enabling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-23, August.
    13. Teubner, Alexander & Stockhinger, Jan, 2020. "IT/IS strategy research and digitalization: An extensive literature review," ERCIS Working Papers 34, University of Münster, European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS).
    14. Li, Min & Liu, Na & Kou, Aiju & Chen, Wenchuan, 2023. "Customer concentration and digital transformation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    15. Florian Diener & Miroslav Špaček, 2021. "Digital Transformation in Banking: A Managerial Perspective on Barriers to Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-27, February.
    16. Sodamin, Dino & Vaněk, Jiří & Ulman, Miloš & Šimek, Pavel, 2022. "Fair Label versus Blockchain Technology from the Consumer Perspective: Towards a Comprehensive Research Agenda," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 14(2), June.
    17. Maniriho, Aristide & Musabanganji, Edouard & Mulumeoderhwa, Fidèle & Manirakiza, Dismas & Lebailly, Philippe, 2022. "Preferences of Small-Scale Farmers for Innovative Farming Techniques in Volcanic Highlands in Rwanda," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 14(2), June.
    18. G. Denisse Chamochumbi D. & Massimo Ciambotti & Federica Palazzi & Francesca Sgr?, 2022. "The digital transformation process in the agri-food sector: A case study," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2022(2 Suppl.), pages 43-70.
    19. Wang, Sai & Wen, Wen & Niu, Yuhao & Li, Xin, 2024. "Digital transformation and corporate labor investment efficiency," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    20. Abdul Karim Feroz & Hangjung Zo & Ananth Chiravuri, 2021. "Digital Transformation and Environmental Sustainability: A Review and Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-20, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:146:y:2019:i:c:p:119-132. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.