Sustainable and Dynamic Competitiveness Towards Technological Leadership of Industry 4.0: Implications for East African Community

Abstract

The war to technology and economic power have been the driver for industrialization in most developed countries. The first industrial revolution (industry 1.0) earned millions for textile mill owners while the second industrial revolution (industry 2.0) opened the way for tycoons and captains of industry like John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford. The third industrial revolution (industry 3.0) engendered technology giants like Apple and Microsoft, and made magnates of men like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Now, the race for the fourth industrial revolution (industry 4.0) is on and there is no option, every country whether developed or developing must participate. Many countries have positively responded to industry 4.0 by developing strategic initiatives to strengthen industry 4.0 implementation. Unlocking the country’s potential to industry 4.0 has been of interest to researchers in the recent past. However, the extent to which industry 4.0 initiatives being launched globally has never been revealed. Therefore, the present study aimed at exploring industry 4.0 initiatives through comprehensive electronic survey of literature to estimate the extend of its launching in different regions. Inferences were drawn from industry 4.0 initiatives in developed nations to be used as the recommendations for East Africa Community. Results of the survey revealed that 117 industry 4.0 initiatives have been launched in 56 countries worldwide consisting of five regions. The country’s percent of industry 4.0 initiatives as per region were: Latin America and the Caribbean (15%), North America (40%), Europe (53%), Asia and Oceania (25%), Middle East and Africa (11%). While the worldwide percent was estimated as 25%. This revealed that the big gap is existing between countries towards the race for industry 4.0.

Industry 4.0 Disruption and Its Neologisms in Major Industrial Sectors: A State of the Art

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Exploring educational simulation platform features for addressing complexity in Industry 4.0: a qualitative analysis of insights from logistics experts

“…In addition, the broader social, organizational, and environmental implications of Industry 4.0 are discussed, where studies on organizational and cultural aspects shed light on the myriad factors that influence technology adoption and the role of education in its sustainable integration (Bongomin et al, 2020;Takahashi et al, 2020;Vanduhe et al, 2020;Marmier et al, 2021), identifying various ways in which emergent technologies are impacting sectors, shaping educational paradigms and redefining sociotechnical systems.…”

The Hype and Disruptive Technologies of Industry 4.0 in Major Industrial Sectors: A State of the Art

“…It allows the high-wage countries, for example Germany, to maintain their business responsiveness and competitiveness [13]. On the other hand, research and development units are organizationally, personally and methodically being aligned for innovation competitiveness [14,15]. Industry 4.0 is a data-driven production system which is progressing exponentially while reshaping the way individuals live and work essentially, but the public remains optimistic regarding the opportunities it may offer for sustainability and the future of quality work in the global digital economy [16][17][18][19][20].…”