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

TLDR

The Fourth Industrial Revolution poses significant challenges to manufacturing companies from technological, organizational, and management perspectives. This study investigates how top executives interpret Industry 4.0, its driving forces, and its main barriers. The authors conducted a qualitative case study of 26 semi‑structured interviews with senior executives and analyzed company websites and annual reports to strengthen validity. They found that a desire for control and real‑time performance drives Industry 4.0 adoption, while employee and middle‑management resistance hinders it, and that multinational firms exhibit stronger driving forces and fewer barriers than SMEs, though SMEs also have promising opportunities.

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.