Future-ready Industrial systems: A RIDIT approach to evaluating industry 4.0 technological and strategical readiness of MSMEs

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) adoption among micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in emerging and resource-constrained regions is shaped by heterogeneous technology adoption patterns and varying strategic priorities. The aim of this study is to empirically examines the adoption stages of selected I4.0 technologies and strategic dimensions among MSMEs in Jammu & Kashmir, India. A quantitative exploratory research design was employed using primary data collected through a structured questionnaire from 220 MSMEs. The seven I4.0 technologies that are used in this study are Big Data (BD), Digital Supply Chain (DSC), Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud Computing (CC), Robotics, 3D Printing and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) and six strategic dimensions including Servitization, Supply Chain Integration (SCI), Machinery and Database Integration, Lean Manufacturing (LM), Green Manufacturing (GM) and Design-to-Cost were evaluated using a five-point Likert scale. RIDIT analysis was used to find the ordinal response distributions among the relative strategic priorities selected for this study. The findings reveal heterogeneous technology implementation with DSC recorded the highest quantity of completed implementation (15.24%), while CC showed the highest combined proportion of current and completed implementation (48.17%), followed by IoT (43.30%). AGV exhibited the highest consideration rate (56.10%) but the lowest completed implementation (6.71%). The strategic analysis indicates that GM received the highest mean RIDIT score (0.5863), followed by Design-to-Cost (0.5675) and Machinery and Database Integration (0.5031), whereas LM recorded the lowest relative preference (0.4256). The results reveal that the technological implementation and strategic priority dimensions do not follow the same trajectory due to the multifaceted dependability of the I4.0 transition. It provides empirical evidence from MSMEs in an understudied emerging market and illustrates the applicability of RIDIT as a reliable non-parametric prioritisation method. The results offer managers a framework for selecting I4.0 technologies and strategic dimensions that is supported by evidence. MSMEs should prioritise GM to improve operational efficiency and coordination before gradually investing in Servitization, system integration, design-to-cost, and LM.