Evaluation of the factors which harness firm level innovation for Industrie 4.0 in South Africa

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine factors that harness manufacturing firm- level innovation for Industrie 4.0 in South Africa (SA). This study is driven by three research questions. Quantitative methods were used to find answers to the research questions and a solution to the research problem. The main research question asked was: what are the factors that harness innovation techniques, the fourth industrial revolution’s levers in South African firms? To find answers to the research questions an online survey questionnaire was sent to 105 participants. The participants were IT executives, managers involved in decision making about technological projects and technical personnel dealing with the implementation of IT and automation projects from various manufacturing firms in South Africa. Theories of Innovation diffusion by Rogers, as well as Classical theory by Karl Marx were used in this study. Based on the literature review and the results gained from the participants responses to the survey questionnaire, the findings of this study showed that local firms need the following skills: Problem Solving; IT knowledge and abilities; Decision making; Ability to interact with modern interfaces; and Data and Information processing and analytics. Following from classical and innovation diffusion theories, the study concluded that availability of the above-mentioned skills; a clear business case that justifies for investments in the firms’ IT architecture; difficulty in coordinating actions across different organisational units using the common network brought about by the Cyber-physical production system; courage to push through radical transformation and integration of data from disparate sources to enable Industrie 4.0 applications were essential for Industrie 4.0.