A Cross-Strait Comparison of Innovation Policy under Industry 4.0 and Sustainability Development Transition

Abstract

While the advent of Industry 4.0 is emblematic of national strategy for industrial revitalization, the proliferation of technology has drastically changed the landscape of many major sectors of global industries. Industry 4.0 encompasses multi-dimensional conceptsincluding computerization, digitization, and intelligentization-of business operations based on cyber-physical-systems (CPS) and the Internet-of-Things (IoTs). The vision of Industry 4.0 will bring about improvements in industrial processes, ranging from engineering, material usage, supply chains, and product lifecycle management, to the horizontal value chain. This research project adopts a descriptive analysis with descriptive statistics under the innovation policy framework proposed by Rothwell and Zegveld. This report also informs a comparative policy analysis across China and Taiwan. From the perspectives of industry coalition and competition, this cross-strait comparison lends itself to being a policy-making reference. Results reveal that China, in terms of policy-making, concentrates on 'political' and 'legal/regulatory' aspects of environmental policy, as well as the theme of 'public service' of the demand-side policy. Taiwan also emphasizes the 'environmental-side' policy like China, whereas Taiwan focuses more on 'education/training' of the supply-side policy.

Industry 4.0 and Sustainability Implications: A Scenario-Based Analysis of the Impacts and Challenges

“…The study by Lin et al [45] attempts to sketch a cross-national comparative policy analysis and innovation requirements to provide policy recommendations under Industry 4.0 for sustainable development. The authors try to reveal the competition and coalition trend and anatomize the cross-strait policy content on Industry 4.0 through a comparative policy analysis across China and Taiwan.…”

Society 5.0 and Social Development: Contributions to a Discussion

“…The idea of progress has been often associated with modernity and with the social theory itself (Mouzakitis, 2017;Chávarro, 2018;Salazar, 2016;Craipeau & Metzger, 2007). In the bibliographical research carried out, as a curiosity, Wikipedia itself (English version, in a search made on April 14, 2018) refers to the concept of Industry 4.0 (Wikipedia, 2018a), which raises interest worldwide in several activity sectors (Ang, Goh, Saldivar, & Li, 2017;Lin, Shyu, & Ding, 2017;Reis & Gins, 2017), but it does not (yet?) include the concept of Society 5.0 (Wikipedia, 2018b).…”

“…In this logic of integration of the real with the digital, the "smart factory" is central (Lin et al, 2017): "The smart factory is a core concept of Industry 4.0, which employs cyber-physical systems to monitor the physical production processes of the factory and make decentralized decision-making possible. Then the physical systems become the Internet of Things, communicating and cooperating both with each other and with humans in real-time via the wireless web" (p. 4).…”

What Drives the Implementation of Industry 4.0? The Role of Opportunities and Challenges in the Context of Sustainability

“…Therefore, we recommend managers to consider Industry 4.0-related benefits comprehensively to create a solid foundation of sustainable long-term success and viability. Further, politics and public institutions need to promote legal conditions designed adequately [116].…”