Engineering

Ecology

Biology

Sustainability

Computer science

Sociotechnical system

Management science

Business

Sociology

Artificial intelligence

Knowledge management

Perspective (graphical)

Engineering ethics

Journal of Cleaner Production

Industry 4.0 has had a strong influence on the debate on the digitalization of industrial processes, despite being criticized for lacking a proper definition. However, Industry 4.0 might offer a huge chance to align the goals of a sustainable development with the ongoing digital transformation in industrial development. The main contribution of this paper is therefore twofold. We provide a de-facto definition of the concept “Industry 4.0” from a sociotechnical perspective based on its most often cited key features, as well as a thorough review of how far the concept of sustainability is incorporated in it.

Industry 4.0: How it is defined from a sociotechnical perspective and how much sustainability it includes – A literature review