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Industry 4.0 (I40) is an open window of opportunity for Turkey, a developed country, to eliminate technological dependence and produce with maximum productivity. However, I40, which corresponds to the fourth wave of industrial revolutions, brings both opportunities and challenges. In this context, this study aims to reveal the foresight of managers in the Turkish white goods industry (TWGI) regarding the advantages and challenges of I40 and compare them with the literature.

The Delphi method was used for the study. Data were collected from managers of companies that are members of the White Goods Suppliers Association (BEYSAD). Seventy managers from 55 companies participated in the first round, and 19 managers participated in the second round of Delphi.

The results show that the most frequently cited advantages are productivity/resource efficiency, data and information-enabled effectiveness/productivity, quality 4.0 and competitiveness/strategy. The most frequently mentioned challenges are financial resources/investment, employee qualification/training, technical/processual challenges and organizational transformation/leadership.

The sample was limited to the managers of the TWGI.

Players in similar ecosystems and policymakers should consider the advantages and respond to potential challenges when creating roadmaps, taking the necessary steps and positioning themselves in the marketplace. In particular, the TWGI – Turkey’s showcase in international markets – should consider the undeniable benefits of the I40 transition to increase innovation.

The findings for the first time highlight the advantages and challenges of I40 in an industry in Turkey, and they will benefit the TWGI, which is among the leaders in Turkey in terms of digital maturity and innovation in its journey to I40.

The study examines the remote integration process of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) into the production system and identifies key challenges and mitigating actions for a smoother introduction and integration process.

The study adopts a case study approach to a cyber-physical production system at an industrial technology center using a mobile robot as an AMT.

By applying the plug-and-produce concept, the study exemplifies an AMT's remote integration process into a cyber-physical production system in nine steps. Eleven key challenges and twelve mitigation actions for remote integration are described based on technology–organization–environment theory. Finally, a remote integration framework is proposed to facilitate AMT integration into production systems.

The study presents results purely from a practical perspective, which could reduce dilemmas in early decision-making related to smart production. The proposed framework can improve flexibility and decrease the time needed to configure new AMTs in existing production systems.

The area of remote integration for AMT has not been addressed in depth before. The consequences of lacking in-depth studies for remote integration imply that current implementation processes do not match the needs and the existing situation in the industry and often underestimate the complexity of considering both technological and organizational issues. The new integrated framework can already be deployed by industry professionals in their efforts to integrate new technologies with shorter time to volume and increased quality but also as a means for training employees in critical competencies required for remote integration.

This study advocates the importance of taking an evolutionary perspective in the strategic configuration of closed-loop supply chains (CLSC) in the transition to a circular economy. Building on the supply chain management and industrial dynamics research domains, an evolutionary analytical framework was developed and applied in the empirical context of the ongoing industrial transition to e-mobility.

This study is designed as an in-depth exploratory case study to capture the multi-layer dynamic complexities and their interplay in CSLC development. The empirical investigation was based on two-year interactions between the authors and various departments in a leading European heavy vehicle manufacturer. The proposed evolutionary analytical framework was used for investigating the dynamics of four CLSC configurations through ten possible trajectories.

The findings demonstrate that the evolution of each CLSC configuration comes with multiple challenges and requirements and point out the necessity for the co-development of technologies, product design and production, and infrastructure through long-term relationships among key supply chain actors. However, this evolutionary journey is associated with multiple dilemmas caused by uncertainties in the market and technology developments. All these factors were properly captured and critically analyzed, along with their interactions, thanks to the constructs included in the proposed evolutionary analytical framework.

The proposed evolutionary framework is applicable for examination of SC transformation in the context of market and technology development, and is particularly relevant for transitioning from linear SC to CLSC. The framework offers a single actor perspective, as it does not directly tackle dynamics and effects of actions taken by SC actors.

The developed framework can support SC managers in identifying, framing, and comparing alternative strategies for CLSC configuration in the transition process.

This study proposes the framework for understanding and guiding the evolutionary process of CLSC development. Its uniqueness lies in the integration of concepts from innovation and evolutionary theories coming from industrial dynamics and SCM literature streams.

The purpose of this study is to explore the benefits and barriers for learning in industrial PhD education through the perspectives of industrial PhD students. A work-integrated learning (WIL) approach is applied to highlight key issues that university and industry need to consider promoting mutual learning.

The empirical context is a Swedish university profiling WIL offering PhD programs in three disciplines for industrial PhD students from both the private and public sectors. Data was gathered using qualitative methods; 19 semistructured interviews with industrial PhD students.

Findings show that industrial PhD students are developing practical and transferable skills, hence, contributing to research of interest for academia and work–life. Identified benefits for learning include proximity and access to data, project and networks and contextual understanding and tacit knowledge. Barriers for learning are the perceived limited understanding of employers, the dilemma of balancing and switching between different roles, lack of belonging and identity, deficient collaboration agreements and ethical dilemmas.

Contributes insights into an industrial PhD education transforming along with societal needs promoting a future workforce of researchers with skills, new work practices and learning capabilities applicable in the work–life of contemporary society.

This study contributes to the emerging field of studies of alternative doctoral educations by identifying benefits and barriers for learning and providing recommendations for how university and industry may promote learning in a resilient industrial PhD education collaboration.

The internationalization of business has grown the production value chains and created performance challenges for industrial production. Industry 4.0, the digital transformation of industrial processes, promises to deliver performance improvements through smart functionalities. This study investigates how digital transformation translates to performance gain by adopting a systems perspective to drive smartness.

This study uses qualitative research to collect data on the lived experiences of digital transformation practitioners for theory development. It uses semi-structured interviews with industry experts and applies the Gioia methodology for analysis.

The study determined that enterprise smartness is an organizational capability developed by digital transformation, it is a function of integration and the enabler of organizational performance gains in the Industry 4.0 context. The study determined that performance gains are experienced in productivity, sustainability, safety and customer experience, which represents performance metrics for Industry 4.0.

This study contributes a model that inserts smartness in the linkage between digital transformation and organizational outcomes to the digital transformation and production management literature.

The study indicates that digital transformation programs should focus on developing smartness rather than technology implementations, which must be considered an enabling activity.

Existing studies recognized the positive impact of technology on performance in industrial production. The study addresses a missing link in the Industry 4.0 value creation process. It adopts a systems perspective to establish the role of smartness in translating technology use to performance outcomes. Smart capabilities have been the critical missing link in the literature on harnessing digital transformation in organizations. The study advances theory development by contributing an Industry 4.0 value model that establishes a link between digital technologies, smartness and organizational performance.

In developing countries like Tanzania, gems and jewellery industry mainly consists of disintegrated and unstable micro and small workshops which operate in a way that misalign value addition processes. This study is aimed to bridge gap by focussing on exploitation of industrial clusters in social normalisation and economic resilience to developing countries. The world economic shocks has been not only individually experienced but also globally shared while disrupted lives across all countries and communities and negatively affected global socio-economic growth.

Furthermore, the explorative design was adopted in this study in order to explore needs of respondents, and with the aim to direct the study towards a descriptive design. The sample frame consists of participants in gems and jewellery activities in Tanzania whereby sample was drawn from Dar es Salaam and Arusha. Semi-structured interview was used to collect quantitative data to establish evidence of Tanzanians’ SSJs linked to global value chains (GVCs).

Results revealed the benefits of exploitation of artisanal industrial clusters to Tanzanians’ SSJs when linked to global value chains (GVCs). Findings of the study demonstrate the importance of artisanal industrial clusters in facilitating Tanzanians’ SSJs to access GVCs. Further, insufficient education, trust and social protection directly affects inclusive GVCs, inferring that the impact of artisanal industrial clusters on inclusive GVCs in social normalisation and economic resilience.

Study findings reveals shortcomings in existing regulatory framework of linking Tanzanians’ SSJs to artisanal industrial clusters, for improvements to better support the inclusiveness in GVCs. Findings of this research invite interventions on institutional capabilities and entrepreneurial competencies to enhance the capabilities of small-scale jewellers (SSJs). Like other studies, this study involved cross-sectional data, limit targeted study population as representative of SSJs in industrial clusters and GVCs in economic crises at limited time.

The study findings makes important practical contributions to the Tanzania’s SSJs by examining mediating role of artisanal industrial clusters hence informing policymakers of mining sector how to improve accessibility on GVCs by focus on offering great institutional capabilities and entrepreneurial competencies. These findings will help SSJs and policy makers to get better understanding of the relationships in exploitation of artisanal industrial clusters when accessing GVCs. Therefore, they can make better decisions on implementing artisanal industrial clusters as well as management accessing GVCs, so that SSJs will attain the best possible performance.

This emphasises the importance of community empowerment in the GVCs process through artisanal industrial clusters. Study findings indicate the influence of industrial relations to social dynamics which are previously inadequately addressed and scantly researched. In actual fact study propose initiatives that ensure local communities benefit socially from the integration of SSJs into GVCs through artisanal industrial clusters. Findings suggest local communities that take into account inter-sectionality of artisanal industrial clusters and inclusive GVCs, by considering how factors like education, trust and social protection status intersect to influence the social inclusiveness of SSJs.

There is limited evidence of linking Tanzanians’ SSJs to GVCs in social normalisation and economic resilience and few researchers have explored this topic. This article leverages exploitation of industrial clusters in normalisation and economic resilience to developing countries such as Tanzania as way of improving shared prosperity, sustainability, inclusive growth, cohesion, value chain upgrading and financial inclusion to SSJs.

This study, a conceptual paper, aims an answer the question, how significant cluster ambidexterity is for the resilience of individual clusters.

The authors draw up an abductive synopsis of empirical information and relevant theoretical sources. A case study is used to illustrate some of the findings.

The results of the analysis show that the ambidexterity of a cluster can contribute to its resilience when adverse external developments arise. Ambidexterity proves to be simultaneously a common strategy of key cluster actors and a mechanism for coping with critical situations and developments that can be activated by the cluster actors and may – eventually – lead to cluster resilience. While ambidexterity does not guarantee cluster survival, it can contribute significantly to their economic resilience under adverse conditions.

The concept is developed on a limited empirical basis and would need to be tested and deepened by comparing a wide range of case studies from different clusters.

A better understanding of the importance of ambidexterity for the development of industrial clusters contributes to a better fine-tuning of cluster support policies.

Ambidexterity as a concept originating from business administration has so far only been rudimentarily tapped for empirical and theoretical cluster research. The paper identifies and develops a path how this could be accomplished to a greater extent in the future.

This paper aims to address two fundamental questions: (1) How has Bahrain's industrial policy evolved during the 21st century? and (2) what factors contribute to this evolution?

Utilizing secondary data, this paper identifies key decision-makers responsible for economic policy in Bahrain and delineates the evolution of Bahrain's industrial policy throughout the 21st century. Subsequently, it employs a series of interviews with elite civil servants engaged in the formulation and implementation of Bahrain's economic policies to understand the reasons behind the observed changes.

Since assuming the role of Crown Prince in 1999, Sh. Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa has been the key economic decision-maker in Bahrain. During the 21st century, Bahrain has shifted away from decisions closely aligned with the Washington Consensus towards those more in line with classical industrial policy. Interviews reveal that the private sector's underperformance in job creation, coupled with fiscal pressures, has driven this departure from the Washington Consensus. Moreover, the early successes of the interventionist Saudi Vision 2030 and Bahrain's own success in technocratically managing the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated this transition.

Insights into the determinants of Bahrain's industrial policy can guide policymakers in refining future strategies. Recognizing the positive role of intellectual developments in academic economics literature becomes crucial for informed decision-making.

This paper fills a gap in the existing literature by providing answers to its research questions, particularly considering the significant changes witnessed in Bahrain's industrial policy post-pandemic.

The circular economy (CE) has been endorsed as representing a model that is able to achieve environmental protection through decreased use of raw materials, together with changing economic values and social inclusion thanks to its demand for a wide variety of skill profiles. This has motivated many policy initiatives to support the implementation of the CE. The purpose of this study is to follow such policy initiatives in three geographically anchored industry-specific networks.

The study contributes to the research debate on the CE through a spatial approach with a focus on how the implementation of the CE is conditioned by spatial and regional contexts. The authors investigate three different networks in Sweden for CE with different locations and industrial profiles.

The findings reveal the difficulty that exist in relation to the implementation of the CE. The network and support functions in combination with private industry are vital. The risk of sustaining an uneven regional economic development is evident.

Although research on the development of the CE has proliferated, geographical approaches to this development are comparably rare to date. The authors seek to contextualise the strategy development and policy implementation of a CE policy.

This paper explores the convergence of Education 4.0 and Industry 4.0 and presents a Twin Peaks model for their seamless integration.

A high-level literature review is conducted to identify and discuss the important challenges and opportunities offered by both Education 4.0 and Industry 4.0. A novel Twin Peaks model is devised for the convergence of these domains and to cope with the challenges effectively.

The proposed Twin Peak model for the convergence of Education 4.0 and Industry 4.0 suggests that the development of these two domains is interdependent. It emphasizes ethical considerations, inclusivity and understanding the concerns of stakeholders from both education and industry. We have also explained how continuous incremental adaptation within the proposed Twin Peaks model might assist in addressing concerns of one sector with the opportunities of the other.

First, Education 4.0 and Industry 4.0 are reviewed in terms of opportunities and challenges they present. Second, a novel Twin Peaks model for the convergence of Education 4.0 and Industry 4.0 is presented. The proposed discovers that the convergence is adaptive, iterative and must be ethically sound while considering the broader societal implications of the digital transformation. Third, this study also acts as a torch-bearer for the necessity for more research of this kind to guarantee that our educational ecosystem is adaptable and capable of producing the skills required for success in the era of IR4.0.