Drivers of and Challenges Facing Adoption of Industrial Revolution 4.0 Technologies: A Study of the Electrical and Electronics Industry in Malaysia

Abstract

This paper examines the main drivers and challenges of adopting Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0 technologies in the electrical and electronics (E&E) manufacturing industry in Malaysia. The E&E industry is selected as a case study because it is Malaysia’s largest contributor to manufacturing employment, value added and exports. The empirical findings indicate that the two strongest drivers for adoption are internal benefits associated with improvements in production efficiency and cost reduction. The findings also suggest that the biggest challenges faced by the E&E industry are the shortage of necessary talents and skills, limited funds available for technological upgrading, and a lack of convincing business evidence to justify such investment.