Developing an interplay among the psychological barriers for the adoption of industry 4.0 phenomenon

This research aims to identify, rank, and create an interplay among the psychological barriers to adopting Industry 4.0 technologies in the manufacturing sector. A comprehensive literature review tracked by a discussion with industry and academic experts recognized 20 barriers. Based on three widely acclaimed statistical techniques, hybrid AHP-TOPSIS (Analytical Hierarchy Process-Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution) and ISM (Interpretative Structural Modeling), critical psychological barriers have been investigated. A group of 8 experts from industry and academia with at least 10 years of experience was consulted for AHP and ISM techniques. Whereas TOPSIS was conducted by 443 operational-level users, including managers and supervisors of different functional areas of the manufacturing industry located in Pakistan. The findings reveal that ‘Fear of job losses’, ‘Fear of data loss/Risk of security breaches, ‘Lack of advanced & continued education of employees’ and ‘Lack of standards and reference architecture’, with highest importance weights, emerged as the most prominent psychological barriers in developing economies. Then the interrelations among these barriers resulted in a four-layered structural model. The driver barriers identified in the final model advocate that development in ‘advanced & continued education of employees’, ‘standards & reference architecture’ and ‘minimization of fear of job & data loss’ can expedite the adoption of industry 4.0 (i4.0) technologies. The study uniquely develops hierarchical relationships among the psychological barriers for adopting i4.0 in the manufacturing context using AHP-TOPSIS and ISM techniques. The study would be valuable for practitioners, decision-makers and companies that wish to focus their efforts and resources on removing the most critical barriers and challenges for the seamless implementation of Industry 4.0.