Big Data: A State-of-the-Art within the Application Area of Smart Factory and Industry 4.0

Dear Colleagues,

While enterprises have a good understanding of the impact of digital transformation, based on the advent of big data and their requirements, they struggle to apply this transformation, notably when integrating analytical/digital solutions in their core business and identifying new governance models, according to a study of 4000 CIO and IT managers. Initially introduced as a way to leverage new technologies to face modern challenges, such as resource scarcity, global competition, and demographic changes, the concept of Industry 4.0 was quickly complemented by the notion of a digital transformation of organizations, to emphasize the organizational changes needed to reach the aforementioned goals. One part is the Smart Factory—a term from research in the field of production technology. This is usually a part of the high-tech strategy as part of the future Industry 4.0 project.

In addition to technological drivers, digital strategies and business model innovations are notably mentioned as key drivers of the digital transformation. Nevertheless, literature reviews on the Industry 4.0 highlight that most publications on the subject are technology-centric. Liao et al. identified, in their literature review of 224 papers the need “for a more detailed roadmap regarding the realisation of Industry 4.0”. Meanwhile, Kamble et al. highlighted the lack of studies on the guidelines for the successful implementation of Industry 4.0. These two literature reviews show there are few publications studying the Industry 4.0 as a digital transformation process.

To address this research need, we seek to identify gaps and research on the big-data-related digital transformation process, especially concerning the methods and guidelines to support organizational changes in the context of Industry 4.0, especially the Smart Factory.

Prof. Dr. Carsten Felden
Prof. Dr. Nicola Castellano
Prof. Dr. Henning Baars
Prof. Dr. Bruno Maria Franceschetti
Prof. Michiyasu Nakajima
Fanny-Eve Bordeleau
Trinks Sebastian
Guest Editors

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