Stairway to Heaven: How Firms Build Absorptive Capacity to Succeed in Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 technologies are considered essential to support manufacturing companies during periods of market turbulence and rapid technological change. However, there has been limited focus on exploring how companies can successfully develop the capacities needed to advance in Industry 4.0. Based on the analysis of four detailed case studies, this chapter examines how a company’s level of absorptive capacity is related to its stage of Industry 4.0 adoption and provides insight into the antecedents of potential and realized absorptive capacity that are relevant for Industry 4.0 adoption. The findings indicate that the levels of potential and realized absorptive capacity are linked with more advanced stages of Industry 4.0 adoption, thus highlighting the importance of developing this capacity for the successful implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies. The analysis of antecedents reveals that companies that engage in multiple collaborations with diverse partners and that assign Industry 4.0 boundary-spanning roles have a greater ability to acquire and assimilate new external knowledge. Companies that successfully exploit technological knowledge carry out detailed operational planning of Industry 4.0 projects and plan support activities for human resources.