This study aims to examine how Industry 4.0-enabled Digital Innovation Solutions reconfigure business processes across the Music Industry Supply Chain from a Business Process Management perspective. The purpose is to explain how digital solutions are embedded in core and support processes, reshaping coordination mechanisms, governance structures, and process maturity across interorganizational settings. By systematically mapping Digital Innovation Solutions to specific supply chain processes and assessing their Readiness Levels, the study advances BPM research and provides practical guidance for managing process-oriented digital transformation in cultural and creative industries.
This study employs a multimethod research design that integrates a systematic literature review, grey literature analysis, and expert validation. An inductive content analysis of academic sources is first conducted to identify needs, trends, and Industry 4.0-enabled Digital Innovation Solutions across the Music Industry Supply Chain. Grey literature is then examined to assess the implementation status and Readiness Levels of these solutions. Finally, expert consultation is used to refine solution definitions, validate their allocation to supply chain processes, and corroborate readiness assessments, ensuring a process-oriented analysis grounded in Business Process Management.
The findings identify 37 Industry 4.0-enabled Digital Innovation Solutions that address nine trends and six process-related needs across the Music Industry Supply Chain. These solutions are unevenly distributed across core and support processes and exhibit different levels of maturity. Eighteen solutions operate at a commercial level, thirteen at an experimental level, and six remain conceptual. The results show that digital innovation primarily manifests through process reconfiguration, influencing coordination mechanisms, governance structures, and process maturity rather than through isolated technological adoption. Variations in Readiness Levels reflect both technological maturity and organizational and institutional constraints across supply chain processes.
Future research could further explore how process governance mechanisms, organizational capabilities, and interorganizational coordination shape the successful implementation of Digital Innovation Solutions across supply chains. Empirical studies grounded in Business Process Management approaches, such as process mining, longitudinal case studies, and survey-based maturity assessments, could deepen understanding of how digital solutions evolve from experimental to commercial stages. In addition, research examining institutional and regulatory dynamics, as well as strategies for aligning technological innovation with process governance, would enhance the practical applicability of Industry 4.0-enabled digital transformation in the music industry and other cultural and creative sectors.
The findings provide actionable guidance for managers, policymakers, and practitioners in the music industry by clarifying how Industry 4.0-enabled Digital Innovation Solutions support process reconfiguration across the Music Industry Supply Chain. By linking digital solutions to specific processes and Readiness Levels, the study helps decision makers prioritize digital investments, anticipate coordination and governance challenges, and align technological initiatives with process maturity. The proposed framework supports strategic planning by identifying where digital solutions are commercially viable and where experimental or conceptual initiatives require further organizational, regulatory, or ecosystem-level development.
This study highlights how process-oriented digital transformation can influence social outcomes in the music industry. Industry 4.0-enabled Digital Innovation Solutions can enhance transparency in copyright management, improve fair remuneration for artists, and broaden access to music creation, education, and consumption. By supporting more inclusive, accountable, and participatory processes, digital solutions may reduce power asymmetries between creators, intermediaries, and audiences. In addition, the adoption of digitally mediated processes can expand cultural access and participation, particularly through virtual and hybrid music experiences, contributing to the social sustainability of creative and cultural industries.
This study offers original value by advancing Business Process Management research into the context of cultural and creative industries, an area that remains underexplored in BPM literature. Rather than examining digital technologies as isolated artifacts, the study conceptualizes Industry 4.0-enabled Digital Innovation Solutions as process-embedded capabilities that reshape coordination, governance, and maturity across an interorganizational supply chain. By systematically mapping digital solutions to specific supply chain processes and assessing their Readiness Levels, the study provides a novel process-oriented framework that extends BPM theory and supports informed decision making in complex, digitally mediated ecosystems.
