Implementing smart factory: A fuzzy-set analysis to uncover successful paths

Abstract

Despite the pervasiveness of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, few studies have examined the adoption of smart factories. Scholars have long examined firms' willingness to adopt smart factories. Thus, this study heeds this call by investigating the factors driving the adoption of smart factories. It employs a fuzzy-set configuration approach to capture the complex interactions underlying these drivers in the context of South Korean marine equipment firms. Based on data from a sample of 180 respondents, the findings revealed four complex paths with factors including government support, the entrepreneurial spirit of top management, efficiency expectation, and financial preparedness shaping the high and low implementation of smart factories. Theoretically, the findings are an exception to extant technology acceptance models. Practically, the attention of practitioners in South Korea and other similar contexts was drawn.