Introduction
The industrial revolution had a major impact on the manufacturing sector when machines were introduced in the production process. The fourth industrial revolution, often referred to as Industry 4 is meant to transform the sector even further. Anthopoulos (2019) defines Industry 4.0 as the application of “a combination of innovations in digital technologies, especially advancements such as robotics and artificial intelligence, sophisticated sensors, cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and compliance with smartphones” in the field of manufacturing. When machines were introduced in the manufacturing sector, it became possible to standardize products, improve efficiency and quality, and reduce the overall cost of production. Industry 4 goes a step further to introduce some of the newest technologies such as robots, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence in the production sector. As Aigbavboa and Thwala, W. (2020) note, it is creating an environment where machines can understand the demand in the market, determine the quality and quantity of products needed, then undertake the production without any direct human input. The use of new smart technology in manufacturing is efficient and cheaper than the current applications that rely on traditional production.
Some stakeholders may resist the application of Industry 4 in the manufacturing sector based on the concerns raised above. However, Anthopoulos (2019) observes that digital transformation in the industrial sector remains crucial in lowering the cost of production, improving efficiency, and producing high-quality products. Manufacturing firms cannot continue ignoring its significance. However, some of the concerns identified above may affect its application. It is necessary to find ways of addressing these concerns to ensure that it receives universal acceptance. All the stakeholders should understand the significance of this new technology in the production sector. In this study, the researcher seeks to determine the relevance of industry 4 in the current highly competitive business environment.
Purpose Statement
Technology has continued to revolutionize the industrial sector over the recent past. Anthopoulos (2019) explains that in a highly competitive environment and in a market where tastes and preferences of customers continue to evolve, firms are under pressure to remain innovative. They are forced to develop new products and production methods that will ensure that their production remains sustainable. Industry 4 has emerged as the new frontier in the industrial revolution. The emergence of smart machines that facilitates self-monitoring and control based on data obtained from the internet of things has made it easy for firms to shift from traditional methods of production to a new one where precision is always achieved. Large corporations are embracing industry 4 because of its numerous benefits. Aigbavboa and Thwala (2020) observe that besides precision production, the new concept also reduces costs, eliminates wastes, improves quality, and ensures that customers’ needs are met effectively. The following is the primary research question that should be answered through this research project:
- What is the relevance of industry 4 in the manufacturing sector?
The Main Aim and Themes
The use of technology in the manufacturing sector is an area of research that has attracted the attention of scholars for decades. Anthopoulos (2019) notes that it is always critical to define a specific aim that one seeks to achieve in an investigation. It makes it possible to define the type of data that should be collected from the field. This study aims to investigate the relevance of digital transformation, specifically focusing on Industry 4, in the manufacturing sector. The study will assess both benefits and challenges of its application to determine the need for its application. The cost-benefit analysis will make it possible for stakeholders to understand why it is essential to embrace Industry 4 in their production. In this qualitative research, various themes will be discussed to achieve this aim. The following are the main themes that will form the basis of the analysis:
- The current rate of application of Industry 4 among various manufacturing firms around the world;
- Benefits that these firms enjoy when using the smart production approaches;
- Challenges associated with the application of Industry 4 in the manufacturing sector.
Each of these themes will be supported by patterns based on the information obtained from the participants. As Anthopoulos (2019) observes, proponents of Industry 4 have outlined numerous benefits of this technological transformation and why firms need to embrace it. On the other hand, some have criticized its application, believing that these machines should not operate autonomously because they may have various negative impacts. Those who have had the opportunity to operate in an environment where this technology is used are in a better position to provide reliable information about it.
Type of Design
When planning to conduct research, it is essential to define the design that would be appropriate for processing primary data. Aigbavboa and Thwala (2020) suggest that it is essential to start by defining the appropriate philosophy that will define the assumptions made in the study. A researcher can use positivism, pragmatism, realism, and interpretivism. The choice of the philosophy depends on the aim that one seeks to achieve in an investigation. The selected philosophy should embrace assumptions that would make it possible to achieve research objectives. Interpretivism would be the most appropriate philosophy that will make it possible to investigate specific phenomena related to the application of this technology. The researcher believes that the view that individuals hold about Industry 4 is based on their personal experiences or information they obtained from trusted sources. The study will use inductive reasoning to develop new knowledge about the relevance of smart technologies in the production sector. The investigation will focus on allowing them to explain their views in detail, both objectively and based on their personal feelings. The researcher intends to use qualitative research methods to answer the research question and achieve the aim.
Sample
Sampling is essential when conducting research, especially when the targeted population is large. The researcher intends to gather data from individuals who have worked at companies where Industry 4 has been applied. The researcher will also gather data from experts in Industry 4 who are trying to promote its application. Stratified sampling method will be used to help classify participants. The researcher will gain access to these participants through their companies. They will be contacted through phone calls. A sample of 30 participants will be sufficient for the investigation.
Equipment
The researcher intends to use a questionnaire to collect data from the sampled participants. This tool will be emailed to the participants with clear instructions on how to answer each question. They will be expected to fill the questionnaires within two weeks. They will then email back the document to the researcher to facilitate the analysis.
Analysis
Once the filled questionnaires are obtained from the sampled participants, the next phase will be the analysis process. As mentioned above, the researcher intends to use qualitative methods to process the data. Information obtained from the participants will be used to identify patterns that come out from the investigation. These patterns will then be classified to identify themes based on the research aim.
Critical Review
It is necessary to critically review articles that have focused on related topics. The review not only provides information new knowledge on this field but also provides an opportunity to understand the research methods that were used. The analysis of these methods makes it possible to understand the right approach that a researcher can use to achieve the goals stated in the section above. The following are the articles that were reviewed in this study.
Article 1: Generational Differences Impact on Leadership Style and Organizational Success
This article focused on different leadership styles among people of different generations and how the same affects leadership. In this study, the researcher collected data from a sample of respondents who were classified into different groups of veterans, baby boomers, generation X, and Nexter. To facilitate the process of collecting data, a questionnaire was developed. As Salahuddin (2010) observes, questionnaires are always essential in ensuring that there is a uniform collection of data from participants. The researcher developed structured questions to facilitate the data collection process. The structured questions had a scale of 1-10, with one being the least and 10 being the highest level of the agreement stated in each question. The respondents were asked to state which of the ten characteristics do they value the most in a leader. The traits included ambitious, caring, competent, determined, forward-looking, honest, imaginative, inspiring, loyal, and self-controlled (Salahuddin, 2010). It is important that although the researcher selected quantitative methods as the appropriate design, they also included some open-ended questions to facilitate effective understanding of the issue under investigation. As Salahuddin (2010) argues, sometimes it may be necessary to provide explanations beyond statistics. The open-ended questions made it possible for these respondents to justify the choices they made when answering quantitative data.
Data obtained from the respondents were analyzed statistically and presented in the form of a table. As shown in table 1, the outcome of the analysis was presented in a simple way that is easy to understand. One can easily understand leadership characteristics that each generation admire. For instance, it is evident that ambition is highly valued by baby boomers and generation X but veterans do not consider it as an important trait of a leader. Nexters value a caring leader. A trait that the other three generations do not consider as being essential for a leader. The veterans value a forward-looking leader, a trait that the other three younger generations place little significance on based on the outcome of the analysis.
The approach that the researcher used in this project makes it easy to understand generational differences in leadership. One can easily understand why older leaders value a given trait and not the other. It makes it easy to define how a firm can overcome the generational gap in an organization, especially in the current competitive business environment. The methodology used in this article can be applied in assessing the relevance of Industry 4 in the modern manufacturing sector. If the chosen research design were quantitative methods, this article would have provided an effective path of collecting and processing the needed data from sampled participants. However, the chosen design was qualitative method, and the only part of the methodology that can be relevant to the current study is the approach used to identify and contact a sample of participants.
It is important to note that despite the effectiveness of the method used in this article to collect and analyze data, some weaknesses are worth discussing. When explaining the type of questions used to collect data from the participants, it was stated that two open-ended questions were used to enable the researcher to have a broad understanding of the issue under investigation. However, the data presented in the analysis section only has quantitative methods. It means that responses to the open-ended questions were ignored during the analysis process. It means that they did not play any role in expanding knowledge in this field. The article has also failed to address the issue of validity and reliability of the data.
Job Satisfaction among Academic Family Physicians
In this article, the researchers were interested in exploring factors that cause burnout among academic family physicians, lowering their job satisfaction. In the review of the literature, they noticed that family physicians have some of the highest rates of burnout among their peers (Agana, Porter, Hatch, Rubin, & Carek, 2017). They wanted to know the cause of the problem and define the most appropriate way of solving it. The researchers opted to use qualitative methods in their assessment. Although it is not stated in clear terms, the explanation of the methods used and the assumptions made in the investigation makes it easy to understand the research philosophy and approach that were used in the study.
When the philosophy has been selected, the next step is to determine an appropriate approach needed to develop the new knowledge. The researchers chose pragmatism as an appropriate philosophy that allows them to use both qualitative and quantitative methods. Deductive and inductive reasoning are the popular approaches often used in research. The choice of the approach depends on the selected philosophy. The approach must be aligned with the assumptions made in the study. Inductive reasoning was considered the right approach of developing knowledge in this study. As shown in figure 1 below, inductive reasoning starts with gathering data that answer specific questions. The researcher should have a specific level of focus when gathering data (Agana et al., 2017). It made it easy for them to understand the cause of the problem in a way that enables them to propose an effective solution to the problem.
The methodology will be appropriate when conducting the study about the relevance of the fourth generation industrial revolution. In this case, the focus will be to explain the relevance of Industry 4 in the manufacturing sector. When gathering data, the focus will be to identify costs and benefits with the aim of developing an informed opinion about its relevance in modern society. Data gathered is then analyzed to get the patterns. These patterns are then used to develop themes or theories. As Agana et al. (2017) observe, it involves moving from specific to general focus. The information obtained can be used to advise manufacturers around the world on the significance of Industry 4 in their production system.
It is important to note that although the researchers chose qualitative method of analysis, they also included some form of quantitative data analysis to make it possible for readers to understand the severity of factors that cause burnout among academic physicians. The approach allows them to classify these problems and determine those that require immediate attention.
Information obtained from the various sources is presented in form of themes in a tabular form. The researcher supports each of the identified themes with direct quotes from the participants. Readers can easily understand why a specific factor is identified as a major source of stress by the participants. The analysis revealed that time is the major source of stress and burnout among these academic family practitioners. They explained that most of them are forced to take overtime regularly to meet tight schedules. Some of them cannot have time for their families because they have to meet the expectation of employers. Each of these themes is broken down further through statistical analysis to understand how they affect the wellbeing of the targeted population. The methodology used in this article would be appropriate in investigating the relevance of industry 4 in the current manufacturing sector.
The Relationship between Value Creation and Customer Loyalty
Customer loyalty significantly depends on their level of satisfaction with a brand and its products. This article focused on investigating the relationship between value creation and customer loyalty with the role of trust moderation and customer satisfaction in Sari hospitals (Rahmani, Ranjbar, Gara, and Gorji, 2017). The researchers noticed that the healthcare sector is getting increasingly competitive because of the expectations of the healthcare services and customers’ awareness (Rahmani et al., 2017). They conducted a cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling. A sample size of 196 participants was identified using Cochran formula. They then collected data from the sampled participants with the help of a questionnaire. The questions were classified and different questionnaire designs used based on their effectiveness in addressing the issue being addressed. Flit questionnaire, Raja questionnaire, and Morgan and Hunt questionnaire were the main questionnaire designs used in the study.
Using 24 questions to reflect on various variables and a five-point Likert scale, the researchers were able to collect quantitative data that demonstrated the relationship between value creation and customer loyalty in the healthcare sector. Excel spreadsheet was used to facilitate the statistical analysis. The outcome of the analysis was then presented in a tabular form. The findings show that value creation is the most critical variable in creating customer loyalty. When a firm offers its customer superior value, which includes timely delivery of medical services, attentiveness to customers’ needs, quality services, and proper communication, customers will trust the hospital (Rahmani et al., 2017). They will believe that the firm will always offer quality services. As such, loyalty will be created, making it possible for the firm to overcome competition in the market.
The approach that was used to collect and process data in this study was effective. However, it is important to note that the methodology may not be effectively applied in the planned research project, which focuses on assessing the relevance of Industry 4 in the current manufacturing environment. First, it was easy for the researchers in this study to collect data from the participants because they were targeted when they visited these hospitals. They only had to wait till they are attended to and then request them to take part in the investigation. The planned project cannot use the same approach primarily because of the prevailing COVVID-19 pandemic that limits human interaction. The second area where there is a lack of compatibility is the approach used to analyze primary data. In this article, quantitative method was used to facilitate a comprehensive analysis of the issue under investigation. On the other hand, the planned project will use qualitative methods to provide a detailed explanation of the issue being investigated. Despite these shortcomings, the methodology used in this article provides an important insight that will guide the researcher in the planned study.
One of the main strengths of the method used in this study is that validity and reliability were assessed to ensure that the information collected could be as reliable as possible. Structural equation modeling statistics were used to evaluate the validity of the scale (Rahmani et al., 2017). The researchers also used Cronbach’s alpha coefficient to determine the reliability of the study. The analysis showed a coefficient of 88%, which meant that the information obtained from the study was reliable. The approach of determining the reliability and validity of the study would be applicable in the research project proposed above. However, the study will primarily be qualitative. It means that most of these analytical tools will not be of great use in the planned study.
References
Agana, D., Porter, M., Hatch, R., Rubin, D., & Carek, P. (2017). Job satisfaction among academic family physicians. Family Medicine, 49(8), 622-625.
Aigbavboa, C., & Thwala, W. (2020). The construction industry in the fourth industrial revolution. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Anthopoulos, L. G. (Ed.) (2019). Smart city emergence: Cases from around the world. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
Petrillo, A., Cioffi, R., & De, F. (Eds.). (2018). Digital transformation in smart manufacturing. Rijeka, Croatia: InTech.
Rahmani, Z., Ranjbar, M., Gara, A., Gorji, M. (2017). The study of the relationship between value creation and customer loyalty with the role of trust moderation and customer satisfaction in sari hospitals. Electronic Physician, 9(6), 4474-4478.
Salahuddin, M. (2010). Generational differences impact on leadership style and organizational success. Journal of Diversity Management, 5(2), 1-6.