IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/proeco/v226y2020ics0925527320300050.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Behind the definition of Industry 4.0: Analysis and open questions

Author

Listed:
  • Culot, Giovanna
  • Nassimbeni, Guido
  • Orzes, Guido
  • Sartor, Marco

Abstract

The many scholars approaching Industry 4.0 today need to confront the lack of an agreed-upon definition, posing serious limitations to theory building and research comparability. Since its initial German conceptualization in 2011, both the technological landscape and the understanding of the Industry 4.0 have evolved significantly leading to several ambiguities. In parallel, similar concepts often used as synonyms − such as “smart manufacturing”, “digital transformation”, and “fourth industrial revolution” − have increased the sense of confusion around the scope and characteristics of the phenomenon.

Suggested Citation

  • Culot, Giovanna & Nassimbeni, Guido & Orzes, Guido & Sartor, Marco, 2020. "Behind the definition of Industry 4.0: Analysis and open questions," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:226:y:2020:i:c:s0925527320300050
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.107617
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925527320300050
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.107617?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yusuf, Y. Y. & Sarhadi, M. & Gunasekaran, A., 1999. "Agile manufacturing:: The drivers, concepts and attributes," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1-2), pages 33-43, May.
    2. David, Paul A, 1990. "The Dynamo and the Computer: An Historical Perspective on the Modern Productivity Paradox," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 355-361, May.
    3. Sven-Vegard Buer & Jan Ola Strandhagen & Felix T. S. Chan, 2018. "The link between Industry 4.0 and lean manufacturing: mapping current research and establishing a research agenda," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(8), pages 2924-2940, April.
    4. Erik Brynjolfsson & Daniel Rock & Chad Syverson, 2018. "Artificial Intelligence and the Modern Productivity Paradox: A Clash of Expectations and Statistics," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda, pages 23-57, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Dachs, Bernhard & Kinkel, Steffen & Jäger, Angela, 2019. "Bringing it all back home? Backshoring of manufacturing activities and the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(6), pages 1-1.
    6. Lee, In & Lee, Kyoochun, 2015. "The Internet of Things (IoT): Applications, investments, and challenges for enterprises," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 431-440.
    7. Jovanovic, Boyan & Rousseau, Peter L., 2005. "General Purpose Technologies," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 18, pages 1181-1224, Elsevier.
    8. Vasja Roblek & Maja Meško & Alojz Krapež, 2016. "A Complex View of Industry 4.0," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(2), pages 21582440166, June.
    9. Dalenogare, Lucas Santos & Benitez, Guilherme Brittes & Ayala, Néstor Fabián & Frank, Alejandro Germán, 2018. "The expected contribution of Industry 4.0 technologies for industrial performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 383-394.
    10. Bowles, Marcus & Lu, Jianjun, 2014. "Removing the blinders: A literature review on the potential of nanoscale technologies for the management of supply chains," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 190-198.
    11. Paul Schneider, 2018. "Managerial challenges of Industry 4.0: an empirically backed research agenda for a nascent field," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 12(3), pages 803-848, July.
    12. Bustinza, Oscar F. & Vendrell-Herrero, Ferran & Baines, Tim, 2017. "Service implementation in manufacturing: An organisational transformation perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 1-8.
    13. André O Laplume & Bent Petersen & Joshua M Pearce, 2016. "Global value chains from a 3D printing perspective," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(5), pages 595-609, June.
    14. Mukesh Kumar & Gary Graham & Patrick Hennelly & Jagjit Srai, 2016. "How will smart city production systems transform supply chain design: a product-level investigation," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(23), pages 7181-7192, December.
    15. Frank, Alejandro Germán & Dalenogare, Lucas Santos & Ayala, Néstor Fabián, 2019. "Industry 4.0 technologies: Implementation patterns in manufacturing companies," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 15-26.
    16. Hartman, Paul L. & Ogden, Jeffrey A. & Wirthlin, Joseph R. & Hazen, Benjamin T., 2017. "Nearshoring, reshoring, and insourcing: Moving beyond the total cost of ownership conversation," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 363-373.
    17. Rymaszewska, Anna & Helo, Petri & Gunasekaran, Angappa, 2017. "IoT powered servitization of manufacturing – an exploratory case study," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 92-105.
    18. Reischauer, Georg, 2018. "Industry 4.0 as policy-driven discourse to institutionalize innovation systems in manufacturing," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 26-33.
    19. Mohamed Ben-Daya & Elkafi Hassini & Zied Bahroun, 2019. "Internet of things and supply chain management: a literature review," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(15-16), pages 4719-4742, August.
    20. Li Da Xu & Eric L. Xu & Ling Li, 2018. "Industry 4.0: state of the art and future trends," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(8), pages 2941-2962, April.
    21. Finbarr Livesey, 2012. "The Need for a New Understanding of Manufacturing and Industrial Policy in Leading Economies," Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, MIT Press, vol. 7(3), pages 193-202, July.
    22. Cheng, Yang & Matthiesen, Rikke & Farooq, Sami & Johansen, John & Hu, Haibo & Ma, Lei, 2018. "The evolution of investment patterns on advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) in manufacturing operations: A longitudinal analysis," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 239-253.
    23. Craig R. Carter & Dale S. Rogers & Thomas Y. Choi, 2015. "Toward the Theory of the Supply Chain," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 51(2), pages 89-97, April.
    24. Michela Piccarozzi & Barbara Aquilani & Corrado Gatti, 2018. "Industry 4.0 in Management Studies: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-24, October.
    25. Andrew Kusiak, 2018. "Smart manufacturing," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(1-2), pages 508-517, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Culot, Giovanna & Orzes, Guido & Sartor, Marco & Nassimbeni, Guido, 2020. "The future of manufacturing: A Delphi-based scenario analysis on Industry 4.0," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    2. Gillani, Fatima & Chatha, Kamran Ali & Sadiq Jajja, Muhammad Shakeel & Farooq, Sami, 2020. "Implementation of digital manufacturing technologies: Antecedents and consequences," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    3. Mariani, Marcello & Borghi, Matteo, 2019. "Industry 4.0: A bibliometric review of its managerial intellectual structure and potential evolution in the service industries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    4. Laubengaier, Désirée A. & Cagliano, Raffaella & Canterino, Filomena, 2022. "It Takes Two to Tango: Analyzing the Relationship between Technological and Administrative Process Innovations in Industry 4.0," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    5. Rafael, Lizarralde Dorronsoro & Jaione, Ganzarain Epelde & Cristina, López & Ibon, Serrano Lasa, 2020. "An Industry 4.0 maturity model for machine tool companies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    6. Raj, Alok & Dwivedi, Gourav & Sharma, Ankit & Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz & Rajak, Sonu, 2020. "Barriers to the adoption of industry 4.0 technologies in the manufacturing sector: An inter-country comparative perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    7. Cugno, Monica & Castagnoli, Rebecca & Büchi, Giacomo, 2021. "Openness to Industry 4.0 and performance: The impact of barriers and incentives," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    8. Meindl, Benjamin & Ayala, Néstor Fabián & Mendonça, Joana & Frank, Alejandro G., 2021. "The four smarts of Industry 4.0: Evolution of ten years of research and future perspectives," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    9. Benitez, Guilherme Brittes & Ayala, Néstor Fabián & Frank, Alejandro G., 2020. "Industry 4.0 innovation ecosystems: An evolutionary perspective on value cocreation," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    10. Li, Ying & Dai, Jing & Cui, Li, 2020. "The impact of digital technologies on economic and environmental performance in the context of industry 4.0: A moderated mediation model," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    11. Christian Hoyer & Indra Gunawan & Carmen Haule Reaiche, 2020. "The Implementation of Industry 4.0 – A Systematic Literature Review of the Key Factors," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(4), pages 557-578, July.
    12. Bianco, Débora & Bueno, Adauto & Godinho Filho, Moacir & Latan, Hengky & Miller Devós Ganga, Gilberto & Frank, Alejandro G. & Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose, 2023. "The role of Industry 4.0 in developing resilience for manufacturing companies during COVID-19," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    13. Büchi, Giacomo & Cugno, Monica & Castagnoli, Rebecca, 2020. "Smart factory performance and Industry 4.0," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    14. James, Ajith Tom & Kumar, Girish & Tayal, Pushpal & Chauhan, Ashwin & Wadhawa, Chirag & Panchal, Jasmin, 2022. "Analysis of human resource management challenges in implementation of industry 4.0 in Indian automobile industry," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    15. Kristoffersen, Eivind & Blomsma, Fenna & Mikalef, Patrick & Li, Jingyue, 2020. "The smart circular economy: A digital-enabled circular strategies framework for manufacturing companies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 241-261.
    16. Calabrese, Armando & Costa, Roberta & Tiburzi, Luigi & Brem, Alexander, 2023. "Merging two revolutions: A human-artificial intelligence method to study how sustainability and Industry 4.0 are intertwined," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    17. Frank, Alejandro G. & Mendes, Glauco H.S. & Ayala, Néstor F. & Ghezzi, Antonio, 2019. "Servitization and Industry 4.0 convergence in the digital transformation of product firms: A business model innovation perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 341-351.
    18. Bokhorst, Jos A.C. & Knol, Wilfred & Slomp, Jannes & Bortolotti, Thomas, 2022. "Assessing to what extent smart manufacturing builds on lean principles," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    19. Rodríguez-Espíndola, Oscar & Chowdhury, Soumyadeb & Dey, Prasanta Kumar & Albores, Pavel & Emrouznejad, Ali, 2022. "Analysis of the adoption of emergent technologies for risk management in the era of digital manufacturing," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    20. Tortorella, Guilherme Luz & Saurin, Tarcísio Abreu & Filho, Moacir Godinho & Samson, Daniel & Kumar, Maneesh, 2021. "Bundles of Lean Automation practices and principles and their impact on operational performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:226:y:2020:i:c:s0925527320300050. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpe .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.