Industry 4.0 and business models: a bibliometric literature review

Abstract

Purpose

Following an increasing interest in the area that merges digital/I4.0 technologies and business models (BMs), which led to a proliferation of articles in this domain, the purpose of this article is to systematize this body of literature by means of a structured literature review.

Design/methodology/approach

After a careful selection of articles, we carried out the analysis with the support of bibliometric techniques, using the bibliographic coupling approach complemented with factor analysis and the content analysis of articles.

Findings

The results of the literature review analysis allow us to organize the literature around four main research streams, namely digital technologies and business model innovation, digital strategy and BMs, digital platforms and BMs, and IoT, servitization and BMs. On such a basis, we outline gaps and provide promising avenues for further research in this research area.

Research limitations/implications

This study has implications for academics in terms of conceptualization of relevant constructs, integration of two streams of research and specific technologies whose relationship with the BM still deserves attention.

Practical implications

This study has implications also for managers, who may take advantage of the description of some BM archetypes driven by digital/I4.0 technologies and also appreciate the relevance of taking a strategic approach, with a particular focus on the BM, toward the use of digital technologies.

Originality/value

This study merges two relevant streams of research in an attempt to see how they have developed synergically and what potentials their merge could offer for future research.

Citation

Agostini, L. and Nosella, A. (2021), "Industry 4.0 and business models: a bibliometric literature review", Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 27 No. 5, pp. 1633-1655. https://doi.org/10.1108/BPMJ-03-2021-0133