Firm adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies in times of economic turmoil: the role of enabling factors

In this study, we examine the complementary role of enabling technologies and techno-\r\nlogical skills in the adoption of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies in firm production, and\r\nhow this complementarity evolves following a significant economic shock. Our analysis\r\nleverages original data from a two-wave survey conducted on a representative sample of\r\nItalian firms, both before and after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our findings\r\nreveal that prior investments in antecedent technologies and closely related skills—defined\r\nhere as enabling factors for new technology adoption—enhance each other, significantly\r\nincreasing the likelihood that firms will adopt transformative technologies such as indus-\r\ntrial robots, IoT, big data analytics, additive manufacturing, etc. Notably, this comple-\r\nmentarity intensified after the pandemic, suggesting that economic shocks can drive firms\r\nto pursue crisis-induced innovation strategies that strengthen their existing technological\r\ncapabilities.