Leise Innovation, nicht radikaler Umbruch. Die Einführung einer Industrie-4.0-Lösung bei einem Möbelhersteller – ein Fallbeispiel

In the discourse on the dispersion of digital technologies a disruptive change in regards to the social and economic consequences is often spoken about. Based on a case example, the implementation of an Industry 4.0 solution at a furniture manufacturer, the article shows that the changes due to digitalisation will probably be incremental and path dependent rather than disruptive. This assumption is substantiated by two arguments: First, small and medium-sized enterprises often lack resources for big and risky investments in digital solutions. They prefer to build on existing structures. Second, the case example shows that the implementation of Industry 4.0 does not exclusively depend on technological aspects. Social factors are decisive for the success of implementation processes. In particular it is the participation of the employees and a transparent information policy that are paramount to a successful implementation.