Purpose The purpose of this paper is to conduct a state-of-the-art review of the ongoing research on the Industry 4.0 phenomenon, highlight its key design principles and technology trends, identify its architectural design and offer a strategic roadmap that can serve manufacturers as a simple guide for the process of Industry 4.0 transition. Design/methodology/approach The study performs a systematic and content-centric review of literature based on a six-stage approach to identify key design principles and technology trends of Industry 4.0. The study further benefits from a comprehensive content analysis of the 178 documents identified, both manually and via IBM Watson’s natural language processing for advanced text analysis. Findings Industry 4.0 is an integrative system of value creation that is comprised of 12 design principles and 14 technology trends. Industry 4.0 is no longer a hype and manufacturers need to get on board sooner rather than later. Research limitations/implications The strategic roadmap presented in this study can serve academicians and practitioners as a stepping stone for development of a detailed strategic roadmap for successful transition from traditional manufacturing into the Industry 4.0. However, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy that suits all businesses or industries, meaning that the Industry 4.0 roadmap for each company is idiosyncratic, and should be devised based on company’s core competencies, motivations, capabilities, intent, goals, priorities and budgets. Practical implications The first step for transitioning into the Industry 4.0 is the development of a comprehensive strategic roadmap that carefully identifies and plans every single step a manufacturing company needs to take, as well as the timeline, and the costs and benefits associated with each step. The strategic roadmap presented in this study can offer as a holistic view of common steps that manufacturers need to undertake in their transition toward the Industry 4.0. Originality/value The study is among the first to identify, cluster and describe design principles and technology trends that are building blocks of the Industry 4.0. The strategic roadmap for Industry 4.0 transition presented in this study is expected to assist contemporary manufacturers to understand what implementing the Industry 4.0 really requires of them and what challenges they might face during the transition process.

No abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the factors within the technology‐organization‐environment (TOE) framework that affect the decision to adopt electronic commerce (EC) and extent of EC adoption, as well as adoption and non‐adoption of different EC applications within small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire‐based survey was conducted to collect data from 235 managers or owners of manufacturing SMEs in Iran. The data were analyzed by employing factorial analysis and relevant hypotheses were derived and tested by multiple and logistic regression analysis.FindingsEC adoption within SMEs is affected by perceived relative advantage, perceived compatibility, CEO's innovativeness, information intensity, buyer/supplier pressure, support from technology vendors, and competition. Similarly, description on determinants of adoption and non‐adoption of different EC applications has been provided.Research limitations/implicationsCross‐sectional data of this research tend to have certain limitations when it comes to explaining the direction of causality of the relationships among the variables, which will change overtime.Practical implicationsThe findings offer valuable insights to managers, IS experts, and policy makers responsible for assisting SMEs with entering into the e‐marketplace. Vendors should collaborate with SMEs to enhance the compatibility of EC applications with these businesses. To enhance the receptiveness of EC applications, CEOs, innovativeness and perception toward EC advantages should also be aggrandized.Originality/valueThis study is perhaps one of the first to use a wide range of variables in the light of TOE framework to comprehensively assess EC adoption behavior, both in terms of initial and post‐adoption within SMEs in developing countries, as well adoption and non‐adoption of simple and advanced EC applications such as electronic supply chain management systems.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how small manufacturing firms can leverage their Information Technology (IT) resources to develop the lean-digitized manufacturing system that offers sustained competitiveness in the Industry 4.0 era. Design/methodology/approach The study performs an in-depth five years case study of a manufacturing firm, and reports its journey from failure in the implementation of enterprise resource planning to its success in integrating IT-based technology trends of Industry 4.0 with the firm’s core capabilities and competencies while pursuing manufacturing digitization. Findings Industry 4.0 transition requires the organizational integration of many IT-based modern technologies and the digitization of entire value chains. However, Industry 4.0 transition for smaller manufacturers can begin with digitization of certain areas of operations in support of organizational core strategies. The development of lean-digitized manufacturing system is a viable business strategy for corporate survivability in the Industry 4.0 setting. Research limitations/implications Although the implementation of lean-digitized manufacturing system is costly and challenging, this manufacturing strategy offers superior corporate competitiveness in the long run. Since this finding is rather limited to the present case study, assessing the business value of lean-digitized manufacturing system in a larger scale research context would be an interesting avenue for future research. Practical implications Industry 4.0 transition for typical manufacturers should commensurate with their organizational, operational and technical particularities. Digitization of certain operations and processes, when aligned with the firm’s core strategies, capabilities and procedures, can offer superior competitiveness even in Industry 4.0 era, meaning that the strategic plan for successful Industry 4.0 transition is idiosyncratic to each particular manufacturer. Social implications Manufacturing digitization can have deep social implications as it alters inter- and intra-organizational relationships, causes unemployment among low-skilled workforce, and raises data security and privacy concerns. Manufacturers should take responsibility for their digitization process and steer it in a direction that simultaneously safeguards economic, social and environmental sustainability. Originality/value The strategic roadmap devised and employed by the case company for managing its digitization process can better reveal what manufacturing digitization, mandated by Industry 4.0, might require of typical manufacturers, and further enable them to better facilitate their digital transformation process.

Information Technology (IT) adoption is an important field of study in a number of areas, which include small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Due to the numerous advantages of IT, SMEs are trying to adopt IT applications to support their businesses. IT adoption by SMEs differs from larger organizations because of their specific characteristics, such as resources constraints. Therefore, this research aims to provide a better and clearer understanding of IT adoption within SMEs by reviewing and analyzing current IT literature. In this research, the review of literature includes theories, perspectives, empirical research and case studies related to IT adoption, in particular within SMEs from various databases such as Business Premier, Science Direct, JStor, Emerald Insight and Springer Link. The proposed model of effective IT adoption is believed to provide managers, vendors, consultants and governments with a practical synopsis of the IT adoption process in SMEs, which will in turn assist them to be successful with IT institutionalization within these businesses