The Influence Between Industry 4.0 and Technology Transfer: A Framework Based on Systematic Literature Review

Industry 4.0 represents an enormous potential for organizations, but its successful implementation requires a thorough analysis of Technology Transfer (TT) activities. This paper’s purpose is (1) to build on the state-of-the-art literature on Industry 4.0 and Technology Transfer, (2) to identify key characteristics of recent studies, (3) to develop a framework illustrating the relationship between Technology Transfer and Industry 4.0 and demonstrate its practical application in companies. For that purpose, the databases Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Scopus were selected for the search of relevant papers on industry 4.0 and technology transfer. This search encompassed the 2010 to 2022 period and, after the application of the Methodi Ordinatio, a total of 70 papers were analyzed. The review examined the publication timeline, leading publishers, geographical distribution, keyword co-occurrence, and clusters. Based on this literature review, a framework that presents how the influence of technology transfer facilitates the Industry 4.0 implementation process was elaborated, named the I4.0-TT framework. The results show that Technology Transfer, jointly with 4.0 concepts and technologies, acts in five dimensions (People, Process, Technology, Strategy and Organization, and Integration). Applying these five dimensions and their respective components leads to the so-called Industry 4.0. Therefore, the conclusion reached is that Technology Transfer reveals itself as a support to apply 4.0 concepts and technologies in the organization.