Have a personal or library account? Click to login
Drivers and Challenges of Industry 4.0 Adoption: An Empirical Study on Metal and Metal Products Manufacturing SMEs Cover

Drivers and Challenges of Industry 4.0 Adoption: An Empirical Study on Metal and Metal Products Manufacturing SMEs

Management Systems in Production Engineering
Volume 34 (2026): Issue 1 (March 2026)
By: Bader Almannai  
Open Access
|Feb 2026

References

  1. Özkan-Özena, Y. D., Kazançoğlu, Y., and Mangla, S.K. (2020) ‘Synchronized barriers for circular supply chains in industry 3.5/industry 4.0 transition for sustainable resource management’, Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 161, pp. 104986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104986.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  2. Lopez, C., Bendix, J., and Servin, C. (2020) Kingdom of Bah-rain and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. https://milken-institute.org/sites/default/files/reports-pdf/Bahrain-Fourth-Industrial-Revolution-FINAL.pdf. Accessed: 25 February 24.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  3. Nick, G.A. and Pongrácz, F. (2016) ‘Hungarian Smart Cities Strategies Towards Industry 4.0’, International Scientific Journal Industry 4.0, 1(2), pp. 122-127.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  4. Lom, M., Pribyl, O., and Svitek, M. (2016) ‘Industry 4.0 as a Part of Smart Cities’, Smart Cities Symposium Prague. IEEE, pp. 1-6. doi: 10.1109/IEEM.2014.7058728.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  5. Safiullin, A., Krasnyuk, L., and Kapelyuk, Z. (2019) ‘Integration of Industry 4.0 technologies for “smart cities” development’, Materials Science and Engineering, 497(1), p. 012089. doi: 10.1088/1757-899X/497/1/012089.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  6. AlMalki, H.A. and Durugbo, C.M. (2023) ‘Institutional innovation readiness for Industry 4.0 education: Towards an inclusive model for the Kingdom of Bahrain’, Asian Journal of Technology Innovation, 31(2), pp. 309-335. doi: 10.1080/19761597.2022.2056492.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  7. Bahrain Economic Report 2022 (2023) Available at: https://www.mofne.gov.bh/media/yzalcpgn/ci2325-beqq3-2022-en.pdf. Accessed: 25 February 24.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  8. Bahrain Economic Report 2023 (2024) Available at: https://www.mofne.gov.bh/media/td2n1wia/beq_v6_en.pdf. Accessed: 25 February 24.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  9. Stentoft, J., Jensen, K.W., Philipsen, K., and Haug, A. (2019) ‘Drivers and Barriers for Industry 4.0 Readiness and Practice: A SME Perspective with Empirical Evidence’, Available at: https://doi.org/10.24251/HICSS.2019.619.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  10. Stentoft, J., Adsbøll Wickstrøm, K., Philipsen, K., and Haug, A. (2021) ‘Drivers and barriers for Industry 4.0 readiness and practice: Empirical evidence from small and mediumsized manufacturers’, Production Planning & Control, 32(10), pp. 811-828. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2020.1768318.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  11. Mahdiraji, H.A., Zavadskas, E.K., Skare, M., Kafshgar, F.Z.R. and Arab, A. (2020) ‘Evaluating strategies for implementing Industry 4.0: A hybrid expert-oriented approach of BWM and interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy TODIM’, Economic Research-Ekonomska Istra ž ivanja, 33(1), pp. 1600-1620.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  12. Castelo-Branco, I., Cruz-Jesus, F. and Oliveira, T. (2019) ‘Assessing Industry 4.0 readiness in manufacturing: Evidence for the European Union’, Computers in Industry, 107, pp. 22-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2019.01.007.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  13. Lu, Y. (2017) ‘Industry 4.0: A survey on technologies, applications and open research issues’, Journal of Industrial Information Integration, 6, pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jii.2017.04.005.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  14. Preuveneers, D. and Ilie-Zudor, E. (2017) ‘The intelligent industry of the future: A survey on emerging trends, research challenges and opportunities in Industry 4.0’, Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Smart Environments, 9(3), pp. 287-298. https://doi.org/10.3233/AIS-170432.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  15. Shrouf, F., Ordieres, J. and Miragliotta, G. (2014) ‘Smart factories in Industry 4.0: A review of the concept and of energy management approached in production based on the Internet of Things paradigm’, 2014 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, pp. 697-701. https://doi.org/10.1109/IEEM.2014.7058728.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  16. Bartodziej, C.J. (2017) The Concept Industry 4.0. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-16502-4. Accessed: 26 February 24.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  17. Dalmarco, G., Ramalho, F.R., Barros, A.C. and Soares, A.L. (2019) ‘Providing Industry 4.0 technologies: The case of a production technology cluster’, The Journal of High Technology Management Research, 30(2), p. 100355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hitech.2019.100355.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  18. Moktadir, Md.A., Ali, S.M., Kusi-Sarpong, S. and Shaikh, Md.A.A. (2018) ‘Assessing challenges for implementing Industry 4.0: Implications for process safety and environmental protection’, Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 117, pp. 730-741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2018.04.020.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  19. Reinhard, G., Jesper, V. and Stefan, S. (2016) ‘Industry 4.0: Building the digital enterprise’, 2016 Global Industry 4.0 Survey, 1(1), pp. 1–39.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  20. Rüßmann, M., Lorenz, M., Gerbert, P.D., Waldner, M., Justus, J., Engel, P. and Harnisch, M.J. (2016) ‘Industry 4.0: The future of productivity and growth in manufacturing industries’, April 09.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  21. Saucedo-Martínez, J.A., Pérez-Lara, M., Marmolejo-Saucedo, J.A., Salais-Fierro, T.E. and Vasant, P. (2018) ‘Industry 4.0 framework for management and operations: A review’, Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing, 9(3), pp. 789-801. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12652-017-0533-1.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  22. Ghobakhloo, M., Iranmanesh, M., Vilkas, M., Grybauskas, A. and Amran, A. (2022) ‘Drivers and barriers of Industry 4.0 technology adoption among manufacturing SMEs: A systematic review and transformation roadmap’, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 33(6), pp. 1029-1058. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-12-2021-0505.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  23. Ghobakhloo, M. and Ching, N. T. (2019) ‘Adoption of digital technologies of smart manufacturing in SMEs’, Journal of Industrial Information Integration, 16, p. 100107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jii.2019.100107.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  24. Saniuk, S., Grabowska, S. and Gajdzik, B. (2020) ‘Social expectations and market changes in the context of developing the Industry 4.0 concept’, Sustainability, 12(4), 1362. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041362.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  25. Lee, J., Bagheri, B. and Kao, H.-A. (2015) ‘A Cyber-Physical Systems architecture for Industry 4.0-based manufacturing systems’, Manufacturing Letters, 3, pp. 18-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mfglet.2014.12.001.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  26. Hizam-Hanafiah, M., Soomro, M. and Abdullah, N. (2020) ‘Industry 4.0 Readiness Models: A Systematic Literature Review of Model Dimensions’, Information, 11(7), p. 364. https://doi.org/10.3390/info11070364.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  27. Schumacher, A., Erol, S. and Sihn, W. (2016) ‘A Maturity Model for Assessing Industry 4.0 Readiness and Maturity of Manufacturing Enterprises’, Procedia CIRP, 52, pp. 161-166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2016.07.040.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  28. Çınar, Z. M., Zeeshan, Q. and Korhan, O. (2021) ‘A Framework for Industry 4.0 Readiness and Maturity of Smart Manufacturing Enterprises: A Case Study’, Sustainability, 13(12), p. 6659. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126659.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  29. Axmann, B. and Harmoko, H. (2020) ‘Industry 4.0 Readiness Assessment’, Tehni č ki Glasnik, 14(2), pp. 212-217. https://doi.org/10.31803/tg-20200523195016.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  30. Li, Y., Dai, J. and Cui, L. (2020) ‘The impact of digital technologies on economic and environmental performance in the context of Industry 4.0: A moderated mediation model’, International Journal of Production Economics, 229, p. 107777. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.107777.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  31. Rifqi, H., Zamma, A., Ben Souda, S. and Hansali, M. (2021) ‘Positive Effect of Industry 4.0 on Quality and Operations Management’, International Journal of Online and Biomedical Engineering (IJOE), 17(09), pp. 133-147. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijoe.v17i09.24717.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  32. Ratnasingam, J., Ab Latib, H., Yi, L. Y., Liat, L. C. and Khoo, A. (2019) ‘Extent of automation and the readiness for Industry 4.0 among Malaysian furniture manufacturers’, BioResources, 14(3), pp. 7095-7110. https://doi.org/10.15376/biores.14.3.7095-7110.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  33. Horváth, D. and Szabó, R. Zs. (2019) ‘Driving forces and barriers of Industry 4.0: Do multinational and small and medium-sized companies have equal opportunities?’, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 146, pp. 119-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2019.05.021.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  34. Ramchander, M. (2019) ‘Industry 4.0: A Systematic Review of Surveys’, Southern African Business Review, 23. https://doi.org/10.25159/1998-8125/6032.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  35. Kamble, S.S., Gunasekaran, A. and Sharma, R. (2018) ‘Analysis of the driving and dependence power of barriers to adopt Industry 4.0 in Indian manufacturing industry’, Computers in Industry, 101, pp. 107-119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2018.06.004.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  36. Raj, A., Dwivedi, G., Sharma, A., Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, A.B. and Rajak, S. (2020) ‘Barriers to the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies in the manufacturing sector: An inter-country comparative perspective’, International Journal of Production Economics, 224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.107546.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  37. Kumar, S., Suhaib, Mohd. and Asjad, M. (2021) ‘Narrowing the barriers to Industry 4.0 practices through PCA-Fuzzy AHP-K means’, Journal of Advances in Management Research, 18(2), pp. 200-226. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAMR-06-2020-0098.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  38. Elhusseiny, H.M. and Crispim, J. (2021) ‘SMEs, Barriers and Opportunities on adopting Industry 4.0: A Review’, Procedia Computer Science, 196, pp. 864-871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2021.12.086.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  39. The 2nd National Business Agenda for the Kingdom of Bah-rain (2019) Available at: https://www.cipe.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Bahrain-National-Business-Agenda-2019-Center-for-International-Private-Enterprise-CIPE-English.pdf. Accessed: 10 March 24.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  40. Pech, M. and Vrchota, J. (2020) ‘Classification of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises Based on the Level of Industry 4.0 Implementation’, Applied Sciences, 10(15), p. 5150. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10155150.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  41. Tortora, A.M.R., Maria, A., Valentina, D.P., Iannone, R. and Pianese, C. (2021) ‘A survey study on Industry 4.0 readiness level of Italian small and medium enterprises’, Procedia Computer Science, 180, pp. 744-753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2021.01.321.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  42. Shahzad, A., bin Zakaria, M.S.A., Kotzab, H., Makki, M.A.M., Hussain, A. and Fischer, J. (2023) ‘Adoption of fourth industrial revolution 4.0 among Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs)’, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1), p. 693. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02076-0.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  43. Türkeş, M.C., Oncioiu, I., Aslam, H.D., Marin-Pantelescu, A., Topor, D.I. and Căpuşneanu, S. (2019) ‘Drivers and Barriers in Using Industry 4.0: A Perspective of SMEs in Romania’, Processes, 7(3), p. 153. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7030153.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  44. Singhal, N. (2021) ‘An Empirical Investigation of Industry 4.0 Preparedness in India’, Vision, 25(3), pp. 300-311. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972262920950066.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  45. Antonino, P.O., Capilla, R., Pelliccione, P., Schnicke, F., Espen, D., Kuhn, T. and Schmid, K. (2022) ‘A Quality 4.0 Model for architecting Industry 4.0 systems’, Advanced Engineering Informatics, 54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aei.2022.101801.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  46. Ricci, R., Battaglia, D. and Neirotti, P. (2021) ‘External knowledge search, opportunity recognition and Industry 4.0 adoption in SMEs’, International Journal of Production Economics, 240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2021.108234.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  47. Hamim, H., Abdul Kadir, M.N. and Mohd Shariff, M.N. (2021) ‘SMEs Retailing in Malaysia: Challenges for Industrial Revolution 4.0 Implementation’, in Modeling Economic Growth in Contemporary Malaysia. Emerald Publishing Limited, pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-806-420211002.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  48. Ben Ruben, R., Rajendran, C., Saravana Ram, R., Kouki, F., Alshahrani, H.M. and Assiri, M. (2023) ‘Analysis of barriers affecting Industry 4.0 implementation: An interpretive analysis using total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) and Fuzzy MICMAC’, Heliyon, 9(12). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22506.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/mspe-2026-0003 | Journal eISSN: 2450-5781 | Journal ISSN: 2299-0461
Journal RSS Feed
Language: English
Page range: 29 - 38
Submitted on: Apr 1, 2025
|
Accepted on: Jan 1, 2026
|
Published on: Feb 16, 2026
Published by: STE Group sp. z.o.o.
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year
Keywords:
Industry 4.0 (I4.0),
Internet of Things (IoT),
Drivers,
Challenges,
Metal and Metal Products Manufacturing SMEs,
Kingdome of Bahrain
Related subjects:
Business and economics,
Business management,
Management accounting, financial controlling, cost calculation, investment,
Engineering,
Mechanical engineering,
Production technology,
Tools and methods,
Process engineering and industrial engineering

© 2026 Bader Almannai, published by STE Group sp. z.o.o.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Previous articleVolume 34 (2026): Issue 1 (March 2026)Next article