The Implementation of Industry 4.0 – A Systematic Literature Review of the Key Factors

Within only a couple of years, Industry 4.0 made the transition from a potential buzzword with an uncertain future to a serious manufacturing concept that is adopted by a constantly increasing number of companies. However, recent studies suggest that corporations struggle with the transitional process or even hesitate to implement Industry 4.0 at all. As a consequence, several investigations examined the potential factors that influence the implementation of Industry 4.0. Yet a comprehensive view of the issue cannot be formed because the findings are spread throughout a number of publications, and no single study has attempted to synthesize previous investigations. Therefore, this study sets out to build a solid foundation for future research and to provide orientation for practitioners and governmental institutions by building a bridge between what already has been explored and by showing how the Systems Thinking perspective can help to get a better understanding of the complex nature of Industry 4.0. Based on a systematic literature review, this study presents and discusses a comprehensive list of potential factors that influence the implementation of Industry 4.0 and strengthens the idea that further research is necessary in order to address contradictory findings and to develop efficient Industry 4.0 implementation frameworks.