Industry 4.0 Narratives through the Eyes of SMEs in V4 Countries, Serbia and Bulgaria

Abstract

In the third decade of the 21st Century, thanks to the technological developments and digitization, the spread of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) in production and manufacturing as well as in trade and service industry is unquestionable. The spread is inevitable not just among large, capital-strong companies but I4.0. is also penetrating into the life of SMEs. The present research was conducted among SMEs in V4 countries, Serbia and Bulgaria, and while it analyses which I4.0 technologies predict SMEs’ familiarity with Industry 4.0, it also finds similarities with the spread of the relevant terms in the narratives in three corpora. The quantitative research uses regression models to analyze the spread of narratives and the behavior of SMEs and finds that four I4.0 technologies significantly contribute to the familiarity with I4.0 among SMEs in the participating countries, implying that raising awareness and training on special I4.0 technologies need to be strengthened among SMEs. Moreover, the research found that the familiarity of I4.0 terms among SMEs and the spread of these terms in the three corpora are partly in alignment, therefore as narratives boost the spread of the term I4.0 so SMEs get more aware and familiar with certain I4.0 technologies.