The Influence of Knowledge Management, Knowledge Workers and Industrial Revolution 4.0 Towards Competitiveness in the Rubber-Based Industry: A Literature Review

Abstract

This is a conceptual paper of future study based on literature reviews related to Knowledge Management practices, Knowledge Workers contributions, Industrial Revolution 4.0 adaptation towards Malaysian firms’ competitiveness in the rubber-based industry. Demand for medical gloves globally continued to increase since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. Due to unprecedented demand, the industry must ramp up its manufacturing activities in order to meet the export demand. Firms must be competitive and agile in order to beat the competition within and outside of Malaysia. Many of the firms will struggle due to a lack of knowledge management systems, knowledge workers, and technology adoption. However, the firms can rise and beat the competition if they are aggressively pursuing continuous improvement from their processes especially related to knowledge management, getting the right knowledge workers and adapting to technology quickly. The objective of this study is to focus on analyzing the issue, conceptual theory and propose the framework related to competitiveness through literature reviews. The results of this review may provide information on how the firms can achieve competitiveness by implementing change management related to knowledge management, upskilling the knowledge workers and adopting industrial 4.0 concepts in manufacturing operations. All the above are essential for an organization to remain competitive and relevant in the global market.