Prerequisites and Incentives for Digital Information Sharing in Industry 4.0 – An International Comparison across Data Types

Abstract Digital information sharing within supply chains is seen as a central prerequisite to implement Industry 4.0, relating to one of its core characteristics, horizontal and vertical interconnection. Besides the technical implementation, aspects such as lacking trust, unclear benefits for suppliers and different perceptions of Industry 4.0 hamper digital information sharing, especially by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In response, this paper investigates social capital and further influential factors as prerequisites for information sharing between buyers and suppliers in the context of Industry 4.0. Further, the paper aims to find the targets that suppliers pursue in digital information sharing, presenting possible incentives that could be provided by their customers. Regional and data-specific differences shall further be uncovered. The research model developed is based on established constructs and was further refined by integrating the expert knowledge of an industrial enterprise regarded. A structural equation model is tested with empirical data, collected from a final sample of 957 of its suppliers worldwide. Among others, the paper uncovers that digital information sharing for German suppliers shows high correlations with social interaction, trust, and benefit sharing. Further, several targets are identified that suppliers pursue by digital information sharing, for instance showing particularly high correlations for suppliers from China and Southern Europe. Among different data types, trust is especially important for sharing production and process data. The findings are then discussed from a theoretical and managerial perspective, highlighting avenues for future research.