Impact of Industry 4.0 drivers on the performance of the service sector: comparative study of cargo logistic firms in developed and developing regions

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of Industry 4.0 on the performance of the cargo logistic business (service sector) in Bangladesh and Canada. Our drivers of Industry 4.0 include big data, smart factory, cyber physical systems (CPS) and the Internet of things (IoT). However, there is dearth of research showcasing the effects of these drivers on the service sector in various countries. For this reason, we consider the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework, as shaped by the institutional theory, within the context of this research. This research adopts a cross-sectional quantitative approach to identify the variation in sub-groups that refer to the samples in Bangladesh and Canada. Through purposive sampling, networking, and connections, a total of 210 (105 each) survey questionnaires, as completed by employees working in logistics companies, were gathered. Smart partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the collected data, which revealed that Industry 4.0 has a significant role in promoting and improving the performance of the services industry of both economies. However, the impact of all drivers is more highly statistically significant for Canada than for Bangladesh. Thus, this research demonstrates the role of Industry 4.0 in terms of improving the performance of the logistics industries in contrasting economies.

Keywords:

• Industry 4.0
• smart factory
• service industry
• comparative study

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mushfiqur Rahman

Mushfiqur Rahman recently joined as a lecturer of Business and Management at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, London Campus. He previously held a lecturer position in HRM at the University of Bradford. He earned his PhD in Electronic Human Resources Management from Brunel University London. Afterwards, he also successfully passed a program on academic writing and reading at the University of Oxford. He has experience working in leadership positions in corporate fields for many years before venturing into the academics, now amounting to upwards of ten years in teaching experience. His research area is HRM, E-HRM, Work- life balance and Sustainability. Recently, he published articles in high ranked refereed journals such as the International Journal of Human Resource Management and the Journal of Business Ethics.

Muhammad Mustafa Kamal

Muhammad Mustafa Kamal is an Associate Professor in SCM and Subject Leader in Operations Management. Prior to joining Coventry University, he was an SL in Operations/SCM, UG Director and Director of Alumni at the Brunel Business School. He earned his Doctorate in Information Systems from Brunel University London. His research interests include Operations/SCM, Industry 4.0, Circular Economy, Information Systems/Technology Management, Social Media, Big Data Analytics, and Supply Chain Integration. He is Deputy Editor for Journal of Enterprise Information Management. He has published in IJPR, JBR, IM, PPC, ESA, GIQ, IJIM, ISM, SCM, and JORS. He has worked on EU Framework 7, Horizon 2020, and Qatar National Research Foundation.

Erhan Aydin

Erhan Aydin ("Senior Author" of the present article) is an Affiliate Research Fellow at IPAG Business School (France) and an Assistant Professor at Usak University, Turkey. He earned his PhD in Brunel Business School, Brunel University. He also was a Recognized Visiting Researcher at Said Business School, University of Oxford from October 2016 to April 2017. His research interests include entrepreneurship of minorities and disadvantaged groups, diversity, equality, and inclusion at organizations. He is acting as a member of Academy of Management and European Academy of Management. He is amongst the reviewers of Gender, Work & Organization, Gender in Management: An International Journal, Journal of Organizational Change Management (Regional Editor) and Personnel Review. His research has been published in well- known publication houses such as Sage and Edward Elgar, and journals such as Journal of Organizational Change Management and Journal of Enterprise Information Management.

Adnan Ul Haque

Adnan ul Haque isa researcher at Yorkville University, Canada. He completed Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, United Kingdom. For the last 12 years, he has been a business and management lecturer and a guest speaker at different institutions: London Graduate School, the University of Sunderland, Stanford College UK, SRIBP, and the University of Karachi. His professional research interests include Organisational Behaviour, HRM, Leadership, Supply Chain Management, and Sustainability with over two dozen publications in Scopus, ABS, Web of Sciences, and other impact factor journals.