Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of how Industry 4.0 related technologies affect the relocation of manufacturing abroad by small and medium-sized enterprises.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper contains an empirical analysis of how Industry 4.0 related technologies affect the cost-driven relocation of manufacturing abroad based on 191 comprehensive and full responses to a questionnaire survey distributed in 2018 among small- and medium-sized Danish manufacturers.

Findings

This paper builds upon data, which reveals that companies' pursuit of cost-focused competitive strategies is positively correlated with relocating manufacturing abroad. However, the data also shows that the more Industry 4.0-ready decision-makers are, the less cost-focused strategy drives manufacturing abroad. Furthermore, perceived barriers to Industry 4.0 related technologies promote the cost-driven relocation of manufacturing abroad whereas perceived drivers decrease this phenomenon.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is based on the answers given by a single respondent from each company and only on Danish respondents.

Practical implications

The results indicate a need to invest resources to obtain a better knowledge of Industry 4.0 related technologies when used in processes involved in decisions about where to locate manufacturing.

Originality/value

This paper contains new, empirically founded information about how Industry 4.0 related technologies affect the cost-driven relocation of manufacturing abroad from the perspective of small- and medium-sized manufacturers.

中文翻译：

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成本驱动的中小型制造商向国外转移制造业的动机：工业4.0的影响

目的

本文的目的是增进对工业4.0相关技术如何影响中小企业制造业向国外转移的理解。

设计/方法/方法

本文基于对丹麦2018年在中小型制造商中进行的问卷调查的191份全面而全面的答复，对工业4.0相关技术如何影响成本驱动的国外制造业搬迁进行了实证分析。

发现

本文建立在数据的基础之上，这表明公司追求以成本为中心的竞争战略与将制造转移到国外正相关。但是，数据还显示，准备好支持工业4.0的决策者越多，以成本为中心的战略对国外制造的推动作用就越小。此外，对工业4.0相关技术的感知障碍促进了成本驱动的国外制造转移，而感知驱动因素则减少了这种现象。

研究局限/意义

本文基于每家公司的一名受访者给出的答案，并且仅基于丹麦受访者给出的答案。

实际影响

结果表明，在用于确定制造地点的决策所涉及的过程中使用时，有必要投入资源以更好地了解与工业4.0相关的技术。

创意/价值

本文包含经验丰富的新信息，这些信息涉及工业4.0相关技术如何从中小型制造商的角度影响成本驱动的国外制造转移。