How does performance vary between early and late adopters of Industry 4.0? A qualitative viewpoint

Jiju Antony*, Michael Sony, Olivia McDermott, Sandy Furterer, Matthew Pepper

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose: Industry 4.0 is a new trend among organizations. Some organizations have been early adopters or later adopters of Industry 4.0. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how performance effects vary between early and late adopters of Industry 4.0. Design/methodology/approach: This study applies a qualitative research methodology using grounded theory. 14 senior management professionals who have implemented Industry 4.0 participated in this study through a theoretical and snowball sampling approach. These professionals were from manufacturing and service sectors, from North America, Europe and Asia. The study used semi structured open-ended interviews to capture the organizational performance on operational, financial, environmental and social dimensions. Findings: The findings were analyzed in terms of four broad themes which emerged from the interviews. In operational performance the operational and implementation cost will be higher for early adopters. The late adopters may enjoy the advantage in terms of improved business models. In terms of financial performance, the early adopters may see a marginal increase in profit and increased stock price compared to late adopters. The performance on the environmental dimension will see early adopters enjoying material efficiency, energy savings and an improved image of the company compared to late adopters. In social performance, the early adopters will provide a better quality of work life, safer manufacturing environment. However, the resistance from labor unions will be higher for early adopters compared to late adopters. Practical implications: Organizations must decide the timing of implementation of Industry 4.0. This study will act as a guide wherein they can decide to be an early adopter or late adopter based on knowledge of the resulting performance consequences. Originality/value: This is the first paper that studies the performance effects of early versus late adopters of Industry 4.0.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-24
Number of pages24
JournalInternational Journal of Quality and Reliability Management
Volume40
Issue number1
Early online date12 Oct 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17 Jan 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Early adopters
  • Environmental performance
  • Financial performance
  • Industry 4.0
  • Late adopters
  • Operational performance
  • Social performance

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