Industry 4.0 and the future of manufacturing. Theoretical base and empirical analyses

A new industrial revolution – also called “Industry 4.0” – is unfolding fueled by the introduction of broadly interconnected digital technologies, including the Internet of Things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and additive manufacturing. Many industries are witnessing the entrance of new players integrating new technologies into disruptive business models; incumbents are also urged to rethink how they operate against trends that are expected to further accelerate in the current pandemic situation. The overarching aim of the research presented in this doctoral dissertation is to investigate to what extent Industry 4.0 represents a fundamental challenge to existing paradigms and requires researchers to modify their theoretical frameworks to approach emerging issues. With this in mind, each chapter can be seen as a step forward in journey whereby some core issues come progressively into focus. The starting point is a conceptual work analyzing the phenomenon – “Industry 4.0” and similar labels – and its underlying technological and non-technological components. As a second step – under the assumption of Industry 4.0 having paradigmatic properties comparable to previous industrial revolutions – potential new configurations of manufacturing value chains are investigated. Through a future-oriented expert study, eight scenarios are conceived identifying critical drivers to value chain configurations. Finally, one of these critical drivers – data sharing in inter-organizational relationships ¬– is investigated through the development of a multiple case study analysis in the automotive sector. The contribution of this dissertation to the academic debate is at least twofold. On the one hand, the research highlights the cornerstones of the phenomenon to make sense of its overarching features and building elements. This contributes to lay solid theoretical foundations needed to advance the understanding in the field. On the other hand, my empirical investigations suggest that several barriers counterbalance the technological drivers for change, posing significant questions as for when and how the future of manufacturing will materialize. Overall, an approach focused on understanding how technologies influence the assumptions behind the current reasoning might lead at a synthesis between “old” and “new” elements in the Industry 4.0 phenomenon.