Smart Factory to Dark Factory in China: A Systematic Survey on Managerial Transformation

Abstract

The rapid application of digital technologies such as the Industrial Internet, robotics, and automation is accelerating the emergence of dark factories in China. While progress has been made in the technological implementation, systematic knowledge of the managerial transformation from smart factories to lights-out operations is lacking. This paper survey the literature published between 2015 and 2025 and synthesizes representative cases from the food processing and electronics producing industries. Based on this, we can propose a four-stage maturity model showing the evolution from digitalized units to fully unmanned systems, which we analyze along four managerial dimensions: strategy, operations, organization and workforce and technology and governance. The results show how firms restructure the value creation through platformization and ecosystem collaboration at the strategic level, how at the operational level they employ data-driven scheduling, predictive quality assurance and autonomous logistics while at the organizational level they are adopting flatter hierarchies and dual track talent systems to provide for human machine collaboration, finally, at the level of governance they are integrating IIoT, AI and robotics while enhancing data security and intellectual property protection. The case evidence points to recurring challenges such as the integration of legacy IT/OT systems, supplier readiness, uncertainty of ROI and talent gap. Effective solutions involve modular architectures, phased automation and KPI based governance systems. Finally the paper provides a roadmap and managerial implications on enterprise, industry and policy levels. The contribution consists of linking the staged evolution of dark factories to a multi-dimensional management framework and providing indicators for good practice policy suggestions for future research on performance and sustainability outcomes.