The four smarts of Industry 4.0: Evolution of ten years of research and future perspectives

The Industry 4.0 literature has exponentially grown in the past decade. We aim to understand how this literature has evolved and propose future research opportunities. We focus on four smart dimensions of Industry 4.0: Smart Manufacturing, Smart Products and Services, Smart Supply Chain, and Smart Working. We perform a machine learning-based systematic literature review. Our analysis included 4,973 papers published from 2011 to 2020. We conducted a chronological network analysis considering the growth of these four dimensions and the connections between them. We also analyzed keywords and the main journals publishing on these four smart dimensions. We show that the literature has mainly been devoted to the study of Smart Manufacturing, although attention to the other smart dimensions has been growing in recent years. Smart Working is the less explored dimension, with many opportunities for future research. We show that research opportunities are concentrated in the interfaces between the different smart dimensions. Our findings support the vision of Industry 4.0 as a concept transcending the Smart Manufacturing field, thus creating opportunities for synergies with other related fields. Scholars can use our findings to understand the orientation of journals and gaps that can be fulfilled by future research.

Automated summary

The literature on Industry 4.0 has grown exponentially in the past decade, mainly focusing on Smart Manufacturing. While attention to other smart dimensions is increasing, Smart Working remains an underexplored area with plenty of opportunities for future research. Research opportunities are concentrated at the interfaces between different smart dimensions, supporting Industry 4.0 as a concept transcending the Smart Manufacturing field and creating opportunities for synergies with other related fields. Scholars can use these findings to understand journal orientations and identify gaps for future research.