Purpose – Given the challenges that Industry 4.0 poses, the purpose of this paper is to propose a comprehensive assessment model suitable for evaluating small- and medium-size enterprises’ (SMEs) digital readiness levels, discuss the results of an assessment of 20 manufacturing SMEs using the proposed model and highlight priorities needed to undertake a successful journey towards Industry 4.0. Design/methodology/approach – The research adopts an empirical approach using multiple case studies. Starting with a literature review about maturity and readiness-assessment models for Industry 4.0, the study’s model has been built and validated through two pilot case studies, with the final model used in an extensive case studies research with 20 enterprises. Findings – The SMEs used in this research present an intermediate readiness level with respect to Industry 4.0. They are aware of the phenomenon, but management is still taking the first steps towards identifying the most appropriate strategy to approach this Fourth Industrial Revolution. Companies need to exploit all opportunities that data availability provides in terms of knowledge creation and decision-making support, in all forms, through investments in people skills and expertise and through an infrastructure that can support data gathering, analysis and sharing. Originality/value – The Italian industrial landscape comprises mainly SMEs, mostly needing support to understand their path towards Industry 4.0. Therefore, the proposed model specifically focuses on SMEs, given its modularity, ease of understanding and fit to SMEs’ organisational structure. Furthermore, insights from 20 Italian SMEs are examined, and a list of priorities is highlighted.

中文翻译：

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意大利中小企业的数字化准备评估：案例研究

目的——鉴于工业 4.0 带来的挑战，本文的目的是提出一种适用于评估中小型企业 (SME) 数字化准备水平的综合评估模型，讨论对 20 家制造业中小企业的评估结果使用提议的模型并强调成功迈向工业 4.0 所需的优先事项。设计/方法/方法——该研究采用使用多个案例研究的实证方法。从有关工业 4.0 成熟度和准备情况评估模型的文献综述开始，该研究模型已通过两个试点案例研究构建和验证，最终模型用于对 20 家企业进行的广泛案例研究。调查结果——本研究中使用的中小企业在工业 4.0 方面的准备水平处于中等水平。他们意识到这一现象，但管理层仍在迈出第一步，以确定最合适的战略来应对第四次工业革命。公司需要利用数据可用性在知识创造和决策支持方面以各种形式提供的所有机会，通过对人员技能和专业知识的投资以及通过可以支持数据收集、分析和共享的基础设施。创意/价值——意大利的工业格局主要由中小企业组成，他们大多需要支持以了解他们通往工业 4.0 的道路。因此，鉴于其模块化，提议的模型特别关注中小企业，易于理解并适合中小企业的组织结构。此外，还审查了 20 家意大利中小企业的见解，并强调了优先事项清单。