The transformation to Industry 4.0 for sustained competitive advantage: Case studies of dynamic multinational corporations

Bangalore Hanumanthe Gowda, Shobha

Abstract

The transformation to Industry 4.0 for sustained competitive advantage: Case studies of dynamic multinational corporations


Many historians credit the origins of the industrial revolution in the eighteenth century to Great Britain, which transformed the artisan and agrarian economy to an industrialised economy introducing lasting transformations in industrial automation, technological, socioeconomic, and cultural structures. The ongoing fourth industrial revolution termed--Industry 4.0--advances productivity, innovation, and industrial automation using several digital technologies including Cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
This interdisciplinary research acquires an understanding of the strategic transformation to Industry 4.0 through the lens of Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities (DC) theories by using a multiple case-study research strategy. Detailed semi-structured interviews with twelve senior executives across three multinational corporations and three continents were undertaken to study how firms develop the tangible and intangible resources and capabilities surrounding IoT and AI and institutionalise those developed resources and capabilities in value creating strategies. In addition, six applied innovations of IoT and AI across smart connected living, smart mobility, smart manufacturing, smart buildings, smart supply chain, and achieving sustainable environment are studied.
The research findings inform the contributions to theory, practice and knowledge, and policy recommendations through the knowledge constructed and empirical generalisations. It provides a meta-synthesis of the evolution of IoT, delivers an interdisciplinary framework using RBV and DC to study a firm’s transformation to Industry 4.0, and establishes the tenets of RBV and DC across Industry 4.0. Further, the generalisations drawn conclude that Industry 4.0 has the potential to deliver substantial economic, environmental, and societal impact which underpin the policy recommendations.

Citation

Bangalore Hanumanthe Gowda, S. (2024). The transformation to Industry 4.0 for sustained competitive advantage: Case studies of dynamic multinational corporations. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Apr 22, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 26, 2026
• Keywords: Industry 4.0. IoT, Artificial Intelligence, AI, Resource-Based View, Dynamic Capabilities, Service- Dominant Logic , Strategic Competitive Advantage
• Award Date: Apr 25, 2024