Title: Close encounters of the 4th kind? An exploration of the state of Industry 4.0 in Norway

Authors: Dag Øivind Madsen; Terje Berg; Espen Veen Hansen; Simen Ekeland Solberg

Addresses: School of Business, University of South-Eastern Norway, Bredalsveien 11, 3511 Hønefoss, Norway ' NTNU Business School, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Klæbuveien 72, 7491 Trondheim, Norway ' School of Business, University of South-Eastern Norway, Bredalsveien 11, 3511 Hønefoss, Norway ' School of Business, University of South-Eastern Norway, Bredalsveien 11, 3511 Hønefoss, Norway

Abstract: Industry 4.0 (I4.0) generally refers to the fourth industrial revolution in manufacturing and the use of new technologies such as big data analytics, robotics, and artificial intelligence to transform production processes. During the last decade, I4.0 has attracted enormous attention. Studies show that I4.0 has had a considerable impact on organisational practices in many countries and regions of the world. In Norway, there is limited knowledge about the extent to which the concept has impacted organisational practices. This paper reports on a survey of Norwegian organisations and provides an up-to-date picture and status report. Overall, the results indicate that the impact of I4.0 has so far been modest. The paper discusses possible explanations for why I4.0, despite its worldwide popularity, so far appears to have had a limited impact on the practices of Norwegian organisations.

Keywords: Industry 4.0; fourth industrial revolution; technology; adoption; implementation; survey; Norway.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMCP.2021.117980

International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, 2021 Vol.14 No.2, pp.168 - 192

Received: 07 Feb 2021
Accepted: 05 Apr 2021
Published online: 05 Oct 2021 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article