Purpose

This research aims to conduct, to the best of our knowledge, the first systematic review of the implementation of Industry 4.0 in BRICS. This review facilitates the identification of main factors that affect the readiness to adopt Industry 4.0 in BRICS and the role of different agents, such as multinationals, the public sector or educative institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

Key publications published from 2010 to 2019 have been analysed. A total of 61 papers have been selected from the systematic review.

Findings

Three factors of convergence of BRICS to developed economies in terms of Industry 4.0 are identified: (1) the public initiatives that can also result in the attraction of talent from developed countries to BRICS; (2) the role of multinationals and (3) the implication of educational institutions.

Research limitations/implications

This review has some limitations. First, some grey literature, such as reports from non-governmental organisations and front-line practitioners' reflections, were not included. Second, only research studies in English were reviewed

Practical implications

The heterogeneity of BRICS amongst themselves affects the implementation of Industry 4.0 policies. Therefore, public policies should differ among countries to achieve the different readiness of companies within each country. Industry 4.0 cannot be understood as a manufacturing strategy against delocalisation, as emerging countries, such as BRICS, are also aware of the potential of automation.

Originality/value

Based on a systematic review, this article shows that the strategy created by Germany to increase industrial productivity has been also introduced in BRICS countries as a critical factor to improve their competitiveness.

中文翻译：

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紧追潮流：金砖四国的工业4.0

目的

这项研究旨在就我们所知，对金砖国家工业4.0的实施进行首次系统的审查。这项审查有助于确定影响金砖国家准备采用工业4.0的主要因素以及跨国公司，公共部门或教育机构等不同机构的作用。

设计/方法/方法

分析了2010年至2019年出版的主要出版物。从系统评价中总共选择了61篇论文。

发现

确定了金砖国家在工业4.0方面向发达经济体趋同的三个因素：（1）可能导致发达国家将人才吸引到金砖国家的公共举措；（2）跨国公司的作用；（3）教育机构的含义。

研究局限/意义

该评论有一些局限性。首先，不包括一些灰色文献，例如非政府组织的报告和一线从业者的反思。其次，仅审查英语研究

实际影响

金砖国家之间的异质性会影响工业4.0政策的实施。因此，各国之间的公共政策应该有所不同，以实现每个国家内公司的不同准备程度。工业4.0不能被理解为反对异域化的制造策略，因为像金砖国家这样的新兴国家也意识到了自动化的潜力。

创意/价值

在系统回顾的基础上，本文表明，德国制定的提高工业生产率的战略也已被引入金砖国家，作为提高其竞争力的关键因素。