This research aims to detail (1) how a manufacturer shapes its technology search process toward the uptake of Industry 4.0 digitalization and (2) how digitalization helps the manufacturer unlock cost performance. Focusing on the Industry 4.0 transformation at the plant-level, managers who witnessed this transformation were engaged qualitatively to source experiential insights at the level of their firm.
Four cases in two focus groups revealed intriguing insights on Industry 4.0.
Insights uncovered outline the technological opportunism of the manufacturing firm playing a vital role in orchestrating its technology search process. Enabling technological progression via digitalization of production and value chain linkages, a manufacturer can boost its agility to improve cost performance. Cost performance results from real-time control in the internal firm and external firm coordination driven by seamless linkages and process visibility.
Experiential insights on how precisely investments in Industry 4.0 helped cost savings is an intriguing anchoring that imparts novelty to this work.
