Abstract
The implementation of Industry 4.0 concept brings many risks mainly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The objective of the study is a diagnosis and comparison of the perception of selected risk issues connected with Industry 4.0 implementation in Slovak and Polish SMEs, which have knowledge or experience with cluster cooperation. This category of SMEs is specific due to the fact, that not all of the SMEs have experience with cluster cooperation or know this form of doing business. For this purpose, the questionnaire survey of 787 respondents was conducted, focused on the risks of Industry 4.0 that are the most important for SMEs included in three categories: technical readiness, risks of innovation and risks of information. The statistical analysis of the survey results with the application of software STATISTICA and Social Science Statistics calculator leads to the conclusion that, except for the kind of risk of “New products and services”, all the observed risks are perceived as higher by Slovak SMEs than by Polish SMEs. The novelty of this research and its contribution to the body of knowledge lies in identification and evaluation of most important risks for specific group of SMEs related to Industry 4.0 implementation compared in two countries. The results of this research provide useful information for the practical fine-tuning of the policy aimed at transfer to Industry 4.0 in specific field – cluster cooperation, depending on the size of the enterprise.
Highlights
The trends of the 21st century – such as the shorter and shorter product life-cycles while consumers require more complex, unique products of ever better quality – presents numerous challenges to production (Kovács & Kot, 2016)
The primary objective of the article is a diagnosis and comparison of perception the selected risk issues connected with Industry 4.0 implementation in Polish and Slovak small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which have knowledge or experience with cluster cooperation
There is the existence of differences between Polish and Slovak SMEs’ awareness regarding the implementation of Industry 4.0
Summary
The trends of the 21st century – such as the shorter and shorter product life-cycles while consumers require more complex, unique products of ever better quality – presents numerous challenges to production (Kovács & Kot, 2016). The Industry 4.0 concept is the answer to these challenges as the digital transformation of manufacturing fosters production quality and efficiency (Colledani et al, 2014) and improves business flexibility, agility and responsiveness to internal disturbances and changes in the external environment (Babiceanu & Seker, 2016). The review of the literature indicates that SMEs are often overwhelmed by both strategic and operational decisions about the implementation of different Industry 4.0 technologies into their manufacturing and/or service business and operational models (Mittal et al, 2019). The strength of SMEs is visible in fast learning from experiences of large enterprises in the area of the emerging technologies or digital practices (Mittal et al, 2018)
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