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The impacts of Industry 4.0: a descriptive survey in the Italian manufacturing sector

Ting Zheng (RISE Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Brescia, Italy)
Marco Ardolino (RISE Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Brescia, Italy)
Andrea Bacchetti (RISE Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Brescia, Italy)
Marco Perona (RISE Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Brescia, Italy)
Massimo Zanardini (RISE Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Brescia, Italy)

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management

ISSN: 1741-038X

Article publication date: 18 December 2019

Issue publication date: 18 November 2020

1778

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how much the Italian manufacturing companies are ready to be concretely involved in the so-called “Industry 4.0” (I4.0) journey. In particular, this paper focuses on analyzing the knowledge and adoption levels of specific I4.0 enabling technologies, also considering how organizations are involved and which are the main benefits and obstacles.

Design/methodology/approach

A descriptive survey has been carried out on a total of 103 respondents related to manufacturing companies of different sizes. Data collected were analyzed in order to answer five specific research questions.

Findings

The findings from the survey demonstrate that Italian manufacturing companies are in different positions in their journey toward the I4.0 paradigm, mainly depending on their size and informatization level. Furthermore, not all the business functions are adequately involved in this transformation and their awareness about this new paradigm seems quite low because of the absence of specific managerial roles to guide this revolution. Finally, there are strong differences concerning both benefits and obstacles related to the adoption of I4.0 paradigm, depending on the technology adoption level.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should focus on developing case studies about pilot I4.0 practitioners in order to understand the root cause of successful cases. Both managerial and practical references should be developed, helping Italian manufacturing enterprises to consolidate and strengthen their position in global competitive market. Finally, it would be interesting to carry out the same study in other countries in order to make comparisons and suitable benchmark analyses.

Originality/value

Despite scholars have debated about the adoption of technologies and the benefits related to the I4.0 paradigm, to the best of authors’ knowledge, only a few empirical surveys have been carried out until now on the adoption level of I4.0 principles in the manufacturing sector of a specific country.

Keywords

Citation

Zheng, T., Ardolino, M., Bacchetti, A., Perona, M. and Zanardini, M. (2020), "The impacts of Industry 4.0: a descriptive survey in the Italian manufacturing sector", Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 31 No. 5, pp. 1085-1115. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-08-2018-0269

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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