Do Industry 4.0 Technologies Lead to More (and Better) Knowledge?

Industry 4.0 technologies promise to increase the knowledge potential of firms as smart factories that exploit larger amounts of data than ever through intense dynamics of process codification and data generation related to markets and product use. Present research has emphasised the implications on the transformation of manufacturing processes and supply chain management. At the same time, studies on smart products suggest the possibility to trace consumption activities and provide new services. However, little research has been done from a knowledge management perspective. It is necessary to determine the real impact on knowledge creation through the adoption of such technologies in manufacturing firms and on how those firms may translate more data into more knowledge. Under which strategic, organizational and technological conditions do Industry 4.0 strategies lead to knowledge creation for firms? Based on an original dataset of about 200 Italian manufacturing adopters, this paper investigates the relationship between strategies of technological investments and knowledge outcomes