Can Industry 4.0 Keep Its Promises? A Literature-Based Comparison of Expectations and Experience

The purpose of this article is to show the main topics of Industry 4.0 and how expectations relate to experiences outlined in academic articles between 2012 and 2020. A quantitative keyword analysis is accompanied by a qualitative review of the top 10 keywords as well as expected benefits and experiences. Based on the top 10 keywords that accompany “Industry 4.0” a conceptual model is presented to show how these keywords relate to each other. Findings show that expected benefits of Industry 4.0 are efficiency gains, quicker ways to market, flexibility and significant cost savings in production processes. In contrast, the implementation in particular in small and medium enterprises is hampered by lacking expertise of new technologies and the required invest. While technology is available, companies lack strategy for its implementation. Companies that have successfully implemented Industry 4.0 benefit from efficiency, flexibility, quality and deliverability gains. It is also found that a focus on technology leaves aside other aspects such as implications on organizational culture and working conditions. This research is limited to journal and conference publications listed in the Scopus database. The use of specific search words and combinations of their synonyms and year further limits potential references. As such, some of the most cited articles about Industry 4.0 might be excluded. This article contributes to the discussion on Industry 4.0 through a condensed overview of the most prominent topics and by showing what promises of Industry 4.0 have materialized or not. As such, the value of this work is an orientation towards realistic expectations of Industry 4.0 in research and practice.