‘Evolutions’ and ‘revolutions’ in manufacturers’ implementation of industry 4.0: a literature review, a multiple case study, and a conceptual framework

This study addresses Industry 4.0 from a managerial perspective. A systematic literature review is used to identify the Industry 4.0 enabling technologies, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, i.e. its ‘E-SWOT’ elements. Then, these elements are analysed interviewing the managers of 39 companies of different sizes, industrial sectors, and service levels. The results show that there are differences in the adoption rates of the enabling technologies depending on the size of the firms, across the four industrial sectors represented. On the other hand, no difference in the adoption rates has been observed among manufacturers with different service levels. The managers view Industry 4.0 as a bundle of technologies facilitating end-to-end industrial process monitoring, and fail to perceive the prospects of developing value-added solutions for their customers. Furthermore, managers are worried that the wave of ‘4.0 innovation’ could enable big and ‘savvy’ tech companies to enter their market and threaten their survival. Based on these results, the research argues that Industry 4.0 represents an ‘evolution’ in factory operations and a potential ‘revolution’ in the manufacturers’ value proposition, and concludes that most manufacturers have so far failed to seise the Industry’s 4.0 revolutionary opportunities.

本研究从管理视角探讨工业4.0（Industry 4.0）相关议题。研究首先采用系统文献综述法，识别工业4.0的使能技术、优势、劣势、机遇与威胁，即其“E-SWOT”要素。随后，通过访谈39家不同规模、覆盖不同工业领域且服务层级各异的企业管理者，对上述要素展开分析。
研究结果显示：在所覆盖的四大工业领域中，企业规模差异会导致各使能技术的采用率存在显著差异；而不同服务层级的制造企业之间，技术采用率则未显现出明显区别。
管理者普遍将工业4.0视为一套可实现端到端工业流程监控的技术组合，但未能察觉为客户开发增值解决方案的发展前景。此外，管理者担忧“4.0创新”浪潮将使得实力雄厚且精通技术的大型科技公司进入其所在市场，进而威胁自身企业的生存。
基于上述研究结果，本研究认为工业4.0是工厂运营层面的一场“演进”，同时也是制造企业价值主张层面潜在的“革命”；并最终总结指出，截至目前多数制造企业尚未把握住工业4.0所带来的革命性机遇。