Organizational Performance and Digitalization in Industry 4.0

Organizational Performance and Digitalization in Industry 4.0

Contents

Title

Organizational Performance and Digitalization in Industry 4.0

Author

Dragos TOHANEAN, Sorin-George TOMA, Ionel DUMITRU

Classification JEL

M10.

Abstract

The aims of the paper are to present the relationship between the concepts of organizational performance and digitalization in Industry 4.0, and to illustrate the case of a globally operating German car and motorcycle manufacturer, the Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft. In recent years, organizations have increasingly launched, developed and delivered products and services, and interacted with their stakeholders in a digital manner. Social media, mobile and cloud computing, big data and the Internet of Things are among the new drivers of the actual business world and together with other digitally based technologies have a huge impact on today’s organizational performance. Digitalization represents a key feature of the fourth industrial revolution or the so-called “Industry 4.0”, a new phase in the development of industry all over the world. In Industry 4.0, products, logistics and services are technically and organizationally merged with one another by using cyber-physical systems in such a way that an increased and self-controlling production flow is created. In order to reach the aims of the paper the authors used a quantitative research method and a case study. The findings of the research showed that digitalization improves the performance of today’s organizations and, in the case of the German company, leads to providing safer products for customers and achieving better results. The paper contributes to the development of the scientific literature by emphasizing the key role played by digitalization in obtaining a higher corporate performance.

Keywords

organizational performance, digitalization, Industry 4.0, company, BMW.

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