Organizational culture and the usage of Industry 4.0 technologies: evidence from Swiss businesses

TL;DR

This study investigates how different types of organizational culture influence the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies among Swiss firms, highlighting the importance of developmental culture for technological integration.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence linking organizational culture types to Industry 4.0 technology usage, using novel Swiss establishment-level data and regression analysis.

Findings

Developmental culture significantly promotes Industry 4.0 adoption.

Hierarchical or rational cultures are not significantly linked to automation technology use.

Empirical support for culture's role in digital transformation decisions.

Abstract

Using novel establishment-level observational data from Switzerland, we empirically examine whether the usage of key technologies of Industry 4.0 distinguishes across firms with different types of organizational culture. Based on the Technology-Organization-Environment and the Competing Values framework, we hypothesize that the developmental culture has the greatest potential to promote the usage of Industry 4.0 technologies. We also hypothesize that companies with a hierarchical or rational culture are especially likely to make use of automation technologies, such as AI and robotics. By means of descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis, we find empirical support for our first hypothesis, while we cannot con-firm our second hypothesis. Our empirical results provide important implications for managerial decision-makers. Specifically, the link between organizational culture and the implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies is relevant for managers, as this knowledge helps them to cope with digital transformation in turbulent times and keep their businesses competitive.