Adoption of Industrial IoT (IIoT) in Auto-Component Manufacturing SMEs in India

This article investigates the adoption of Industrial Internet-of-Things (IIoT) in Auto-Component Manufacturing SMEs (ACM SMEs) in the context of a developing country like India by using the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework. This research surveyed Information & Communication Technology (ICT) officers, managers and owners of 320 ACM SMEs in India using a structured questionnaire to understand the adoption of IIoT. The primary data was analyzed using the PLS-SEM technique. It was found that IIoT expertise, IIoT infrastructure, relative advantage, compatibility, cost, security, organizational readiness, top management support, competitive pressure, and support from technology vendors are factors that affect the adoption of IIoT. This article considered organization size as the control variable. The results show that it does not have a significant effect on the adoption of IIoT. ACM SMEs are one of the important sectors adopting IIoT. This article provides valuable insights to their managers and IIoT vendors. It also suggests key inputs to the government officials involved in the 'Make in India' initiative of Government of India (GoI) and Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).