Industry 4.0 and Management 4.0: Examining the Impact of Environmental, Cultural, and Technological Changes

Aylin Yılmaz Gezgin () and Mustafa Atilla Arıcıoğlu
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Aylin Yılmaz Gezgin: Vocational School of Social Sciences, Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey Univesity, Karaman 70100, Türkiye
Mustafa Atilla Arıcıoğlu: Faculty of Political Science, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya 42090, Türkiye

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 8, 1-42

Abstract: Environmental, cultural, and technological developments, along with Industry 4.0 technologies—one of the most significant topics of recent years—have led to a paradigm shift in management functions and practices. These changes raise questions about the necessity of discussing the emergence of a new revolution in management, referred to as Management 4.0. Accordingly, the purpose of this exploratory sequential mixed-methods study is to examine the impact of environmental, cultural, and technological developments on management functions through Industry 4.0 technologies and to explore the underlying elements of the qualitative findings in depth. To address the research problem, 401 business managers participated in the quantitative phase of the study, while 10 business managers took part in the qualitative phase. The quantitative phase also included scale development. The study discusses the prediction of Management 4.0 and evaluates its feasibility. The findings from the quantitative research indicate that Industry 4.0 technologies play a mediating role between environmental changes and management functions. Meanwhile, the qualitative findings suggest that environmental, cultural, and technological developments are shaping a new cultural environment, necessitating adaptation to a new order. As a result of these changes, employees are expected to take part in decision-making processes. In terms of management functions, key developments include enhanced planning and coordination, the rise of platform-based business models, increased collaboration with competitors, the adoption of a modern management approach, and more frequent monitoring and control. Furthermore, the study reveals that although business managers in Turkey recognize the necessity of adopting Industry 4.0 technologies, their widespread implementation remains limited. This study contributes to the literature by introducing the concept of Management 4.0 and developing the Management 4.0 Foresight Scale.

Keywords: Management 4.0; Industry 4.0; digitalization; technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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