Evolving Dynamic Capabilities: Exploring Implications of Industry 4.0 Digital Technologies on Manufacturing

Research on the future implications of the new industrial revolution (industry 4.0) for dynamic capabilities (DCs) is scant and fragmented. This paper explores evolving dynamic capabilities resulting from the onset of the new industrial revolution that is industry 4.0 in the manufacturing context. A survey-based approach was adopted with manufacturing organizations as the unit of analysis. A structural model was developed based on a literature review and assessed using a cross-sectional research design. The results reveal that industry 4.0 technological applications are not only transforming industrial dynamic capabilities, but also creating new dynamic capabilities. Moreover, organizational cognition I4.0, organizational learning I4.0, and organizational knowledge management capabilities I4.0 act as antecedents of resource orchestration I4.0 and intelligent manufacturing I4.0, which in turn may drive manufacturing transformation. Managerial relevance statement: For practitioners, this study provides insights into how industry 4.0-enabled dynamic capabilities for business cognition, organizational learning, knowledge management, and resource orchestration can ensure business competitiveness. The study sheds light on manufacturing transformation utilizing such dynamic capabilities in an ever-unfolding business environment. By connecting the business strategic capability of organizational cognition to the operations strategy capability of manufacturing transformation, this study provides a practical framework for navigating the changing business environment with support from industry 4.0 applications in the coming times.