Taxonomy of Industry 4.0 research: Mapping scholarship and industry insights

Abstract

A systems perspective of an emergent field such as Industry 4.0 requires combining and analysing the entire multidisciplinary scholarship under one map. Recent developments in scientometric analysis allow researchers to carry out complex bibliometric analyses coupled with an unstructured ontological discovery made available through thematic and ensuing semantic analyses to gain a holistic outlook on the ecosystem of Industry 4.0. The state-of-the-art review of the entire scholarship of Industry 4.0 demonstrates three broad clusters—the implications of automation on industry, the integration of technologies and technological advancements driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The scholarship output is, for the first time, compared with the leading industrial and policymaking institutional reports to highlight similarities and discrepancies. This allows to propose a previously unavailable definition of Industry 4.0, which is much needed to progress the research further. The three highly discrepant areas between academic literature and industry insights include lack of research into return on investment, lack of research involving policymaking, and the implications of technological development on the workforce, firms and countries. It is imperative to drive research into the existent, as well as the highlighted, themes in advancing the knowledge and aligning the academic scholarship with the interests of practitioners.