The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Rate of Adaptation of the Industry 4.0 Concept in SMEs

Filip STOVÍČEK

https://doi.org/10.53465/EDAMBA.2022.9788022550420.400-408

 

Abstract: The current trend of digitization processes is referred to as Industry 4.0 - the onset of the fourth industrial revolution was a logical outcome of our progress in science and technology. If businesses want to be successful in today's market, they must respond to the digitalization trend. The pandemic revealed the need for digitization and the implementation of Industry 4.0 concepts in the business sector, where it was not necessary before. The aim of this paper is to describe the attitude of small and medium-sized enterprises to the very implementation of Industry 4.0 elements and the latest impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the speed of adaptation of small and medium-sized enterprises in Slovakia to Industry 4.0. The survey among companies was carried out using an electronic questionnaire. Only small and medium-sized enterprises from Slovakia will join the survey in the period from November 2021 to February 2022. The questionnaire was sent to 512 enterprises. The return rate of the questionnaire was 42.38%, which corresponds to 217 companies. The aim was to analyze the impact of the Covid-10 pandemic on the speed of adaptation to Industry 4.0 in small and medium-sized enterprises. Based on the conducted research and results, we can claim that companies have started the process of implementing Industry 4.0.

Keywords: Industry 4.0, Covid-19, SMEs

JEL classification: M20, M21

Fulltext: PDF

Online publication date: 3 March 2023

ISBN: 978-80-225-5042-0

Publisher: University of Economics in Bratislava

Pages: 400-408

 

To cite this proceedings paper (STN ISO 690 and 690-2):

STOVÍČEK, F. 2023. The Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the rate of adaptation of the Industry 4.0 concept in SMEs. In LÜLEYOVÁ, A. (ed.). EDAMBA 2022: Conference Proceedings. Bratislava: University of Economics in Bratislava, 2023. ISBN 978-80-225-5042-0, pp. 400-408. https://doi.org/10.53465/EDAMBA.2022.9788022550420.400-408