State-Business Relations from the Perspective of the Companies' Preparedness for the Changes Related to the Implementation of the Industry 4.0 Elements: A Case of the Czech Republic

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the expectations of the management of different industries in the Czech Republic related to governmental support for their implementation of Industry 4.0 and their preparedness for the challenges associated with these technological changes. Mixed research, specifically exploratory sequential design, was used. The findings of qualitative data analyses from in-depth semi-structured interviews (n=41) with representatives of different industry sectors formed subsequent quantitative data collection (N=146, the board of management members representing various industries) through survey items corresponding with formalized research questions. The findings revealed a strong group of companies already implementing Industry 4.0 elements (85% of respondents) driven by companies with 250+ employees. As perceived by the management, the critical threat related to the workforce is a lack of skilled labour. Managers tend to prefer a transparent business environment without state interventions or interventions targeted to strategic state industries, preferably to the spheres of education, research & development, energy sector, sustainable agriculture, and healthcare. The results indicate that the easier administration and education reform are among the companies' boldest expectations from the government, among general conditions for current business. Implications for the Central European audience: Central European companies face challenges related to implementing the Industry 4.0 elements. Therefore, the findings that aim to contribute to the debate addressing administration simplification, business environment transparency, and reform of the education system are considered relevant for the CE audience.

Workforce readiness for Industry 4.0 from the perspective of employers: Evidence from the Czech Republic

“…Jobs related to cybersecurity and IT were not mentioned at all by the respondents, which supports the previous findings of this paper related to IT skills and corresponds with the authors' previous paper, in which cybersecurity was not perceived as one of the threats related to the implementation of Industry 4.0, and only one-fifth of the respondents stated that some elements of cybersecurity were implemented internally (Olšanová et al, 2021).…”

“…"Continual interdisciplinary learning and cooperation" indicates a lack of skills in narrow specializations further enhanced by low motivation for continuous learning, which leads to potential implications for the current education system in terms of a greater emphasis on building awareness of the importance of lifelong learning and it structural development based on industry needs. This was also indicated by the authors' previous research (Olšanová et al, 2021), suggesting that the adaptability of personnel to new conditions should not be overlooked, as it represents a serious concern for all companies, regardless of size. The most frequent keywords are openness to learn, learning, multidisciplinary, willingness to learn, and change.…”

“…The collection of qualitative and quantitative data took place at different times and through a diverse sample as part of more extensive data collection related to a project of the Faculty of International Relations of the Prague University of Economics and Business and the Technological Agency of the Czech Republic (TAČR) registered by TAČR under TL02000451. In contrast, the authors’ previous paper, as the outcome of this project (Olšanová et al, 2021), is related to state–business relations from the perspective of companies’ preparedness for changes related to Industry 4.0.…”

The dependent Industry 4.0 development path of the Visegrád countries

“…Regarding Czechia, Krajčík (2021) ex amined the digitalization of SMEs and found a slow transition, lack of strategy, and lack of funds. Olšanová et al (2021) revealed that most large Czech companies have already imple mented Industry 4.0 elements and the critical threat is a lack of skilled labor. Managers ex pect some state incentives.…”

Industry 4.0 and technologies used in SMEs

“…(Wightman et al, 2023). The term comes from Germany, and its first use dates back to 2011 (Olšanová et al, 2021). Today, however, it is spread worldwide and offers many opportunities for developing businesses and the entire state or individual regions (Soukupová et al, 2020).…”