Implementation of Industry 4.0 Technologies: What Can We Learn from the Past?

The fourth industrial revolution ("Industry 4.0") promises a multifaceted paradigm shift in manufacturing. This study aims to gain an in-depth understanding of what the transition to Industry 4.0 may involve. We do so by looking for, and learning from, experiences of similar shifts in the past. Specifically, we conduct a structured literature review of the rich operations management literature on Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (AMTs). AMTs were arguably central in the shift from the second to the third revolution in the second half of the 20th century. A review of the existing AMT literature allows us to infer relevant observations, theories, and findings for the emerging shift into Industry 4.0. We employ the review process defined by Tranfield et al. (2003).