Towards Industry 4.0? Digital Maturity of the Manufacturing Industry in a Swedish Region

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to assess the digital maturity of the manufacturing industry in a Swedish region. Data is collected using a survey conducted among the manufacturing industry in the region. Variables are based on prior research on digital maturity and Industry 4.0, and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. An initial finding was that several of the small organizations within the manufacturing industry does not have a basic digital presence in the form of a website, email or social media accounts, which calls for alternative approaches when assessing and developing digital maturity among these actors. The results from the survey reveal that perceived potential of digitalization and organizational enablers are ranked higher than actual operationalizations in the form of technology implementations and projects. Moreover, the digital maturity varies on variables such as organization size, location of customer base, and level of technological output. Organizations with a high degree of female employees perceive a higher digital maturity concerning some variables, which is an interesting subject for further studies. The overall conclusion is that a large part of the industrial sector in the region has not implemented anything that resemble the concept of Industry 4.0 in the literature.