Prioritization of critical factors toward Industry 4.0 adoption in service industries: an emerging economy perspective

Abstract

PurposeSignificant developments in the service sector have been brought about by Industry 4.0. Automated digital technologies make it possible to upgrade existing services and develop modern industrial services. This study prioritizes critical factors for adopting Industry 4.0 in the Indian service industries.Design/methodology/approachThe author identified four criteria and fifteen significant factors from the relevant literature that have been corroborated by industry experts. Models are then developed by the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and analytical network process (ANP) approach to ascertain the significant factors for adopting Industry 4.0 in service industries. Further, sensitivity analysis has been conducted to determine the sensitivities of the rank of criteria and sub-factors to corroborate the results.FindingsThe outcome reveals the top significant criteria as organizational criteria (0.5019) and innovation criteria (0.3081). This study prioritizes six significant factors information technology (IT) specialization, digital decentralization of all departments, organizational size, smart services through customer data, top management support and Industry 4.0 infrastructure in the transition toward Industry 4.0 in the service industries.Practical implicationsThe potential factors identified in this study will assist managers in determining strategies to effectively manage the Industry 4.0 transition by concentrating on top priorities when leveraging Industry 4.0. The significance of organizational and innovation criteria given more weight will lay the groundwork for future Industry 4.0 implementation guidelines in service industries.Originality/valueOur research is novel since, to our knowledge, no previous study has investigated the potential critical factors from organizational, environmental, innovation and cost dimensions. Thus, the potential critical factors identified are the contributions of this study.