Economic Impacts of Technique Substitution in Chemistry due to Industry 4.0

Klecka Jiri (), Scholleová Hana () and Camska Dagmar ()
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Klecka Jiri: PhD. University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, Prague, Czech Republic
Scholleová Hana: PhD. University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, Prague, Czech Republic
Camska Dagmar: PhD. University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, Prague, Czech Republic

Management Theory and Studies for Rural Business and Infrastructure Development, 2025, vol. 47, issue 2, 174-186

Abstract: The paper analyzes corporate economic effects caused by the substitution of labour by a technique. This kind of substitution is the main phenomenon of Industry 4.0. There is a lack of evidence that the economic benefits of Industry 4.0 outweigh the costs incurred. The paper proves if the initiative Industry 4.0 has positive impacts on corporate performance and if the opposite substitution (increasing importance of labor) does not lead to negative consequences on business results. Financial ratios focused on partial costs are employed to analyse traditional business financial data. The computed cost structure and development are summarized and evaluated by descriptive statistics and the effects of substitution are visualized applying the regression analysis. The chemical companies present a less significant effect of coming Industry 4.0 on the corporate performance than the logistic companies. The general development of the chemical industry was opposite and increasing importance of labour led to the lower level of performance in many cases. Such results could indicate the warnings of late implementation of Industry 4.0 in companies.

Keywords: business performance; chemistry industry; cost structure; Czech Republic; Industry 4.0; operational costs; substitution of labour by a technique (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L65 M21 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vrs:mtrbid:v:47:y:2025:i:2:p:174-186:n:1002

DOI: 10.15544/mts.2025.14

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