The transition to “Industry 4.0″ and the adoption of Smart Technologies (STs) are generally driven by expectations of gains in productivity, better control over operations and supply chain processes and, therefore, improved competitiveness. These factors are important to achieve success, but sustainable competitive advantage depends on a company's ability to exploit its current assets, while simultaneously exploring new ways of producing value. The ambidextrous balancing of these two areas requires concerted effort and the capacity to balance paradoxical tensions. Literature has thoroughly covered the aspect of how to overcome the trade-off between exploitation and exploration. However, research has only recently started focusing on the pivotal role that digital technologies may play in this process. Our paper contributes to this nascent literature stream by investigating how STs can operate as antecedents of structural ambidexterity. This study relies on the 3rd CINet Survey (2016–2017) involving over 370 companies worldwide. Leveraging on STs and structural ambidexterity as mediators, we used Structural Equation Modelling to show that manufacturing firms with good business performance are in a favorable position to achieve better innovation performances. Our results shed new light on the current debate around the Industry 4.0 transition, with implications for both academics and practitioners.

向“工业 4.0”的过渡和智能技术 (ST) 的采用通常是由对生产力提高、对运营和供应链流程的更好控制以及因此提高竞争力的预期驱动的。这些因素对于取得成功很重要，但可持续的竞争优势取决于公司利用其现有资产的能力，同时探索创造价值的新方法。这两个领域的灵巧平衡需要协调一致的努力和平衡矛盾紧张局势的能力。文献已经彻底涵盖了如何克服开发和探索之间的权衡。然而，研究直到最近才开始关注数字技术在这一过程中可能发挥的关键作用。我们的论文通过研究 ST 如何作为结构二元性的前因运作，为这一新生的文献流做出了贡献。这项研究依赖于第三次 CINet 调查（2016-2017），涉及全球 370 多家公司。利用STs和结构二元性作为中介，我们使用结构方程模型来表明具有良好业务绩效的制造企业处于有利地位，以实现更好的创新绩效。我们的结果为当前围绕工业 4.0 转型的争论提供了新的线索，对学术界和从业者都有影响。我们使用结构方程模型来表明具有良好业务绩效的制造企业处于有利地位，以实现更好的创新绩效。我们的结果为当前围绕工业 4.0 转型的争论提供了新的线索，对学术界和从业者都有影响。我们使用结构方程模型来表明具有良好业务绩效的制造企业处于有利地位，以实现更好的创新绩效。我们的结果为当前围绕工业 4.0 转型的争论提供了新的线索，对学术界和从业者都有影响。