Journal of Business and Media Psychology (2015) 6, Issue 1, 33-40, available at: www.journal-bmp.

de 33

Consequences of Industry 4.0 on Human Labour

and Work Organisation
Linda Bonekamp & Matthias Sure
Hochschule Fresenius University of Applied Sciences, Cologne

ABSTRACT

This article comprises a literature review on recent research results analysing the implications of industry 4.0 and cyber physical systems on
human labour and work organisation meant to provide an overview of the current status of discussion on this matter. It therefore provides a
summary of the results from several international research studies and initiatives consolidating respective research findings further supple-
mented by the results of an additional non-representative expert panel review. The main findings indicate that Industry 4.0 would lead to a
substantial decrease in standardised low-skill and an increase in high-skill activities, embracing planning, control and IT-related tasks. The
majority of researchers expects a growing complexity in many job profiles, along with an increasing need for cross-functional work organisation
and cross-company partner networks. They also project a growing importance of continuous learning, training and education in order for the
workforce to be able to adapt to future qualification requirements derived from Industry 4.0 technologies. As a result of those developments, a
transformation of the tax system is suggested, away from the current focus on labour taxes.

Key Words: Industry 4.0, Cyber physical systems, Internet of things, Digitalisation, Change Management, Cross-company cooperation, Job
profiles

1 Introduction

There is a current trend debating the implications of inte-

grating virtual computer networks with physical items,
resulting in so-called cyber physical systems. In Germany, + IP Compatibility
this has led to the visionary concept “Industry 4.0”, re-
flecting a major element of the high-tech programme
launched by the German government meant to boost
digitalisation of traditional industry sectors like mechanical + TCP/IP Networking
+ M2M Interconnectivity
and automotive engineering. According to this concept,
production systems will be able to direct and optimise
themselves fairly autonomously with little human inter-
+ Sensor & Actuator Technologies
vention, leveraging to a large extent on a seamless inter- + Integration of high-performing
connectivity and huge amounts of available information Microcomputers

data (Bauernhansl, 2014; Hirsch-Kreinsen, 2014).

This would consequently pave the way for an internet of Illustration 1: Converging Technological Developments (Kagermann,
things which enables subjects and objects to communicate 2014)

with each other on a real-time basis (Kagermann, 2014).

The major enabling factor for such developments has Against this background, it is possible that in the near
been the continuous improvement of computer technolo- future such systems may imply huge impacts on both
gy, basically doubling its performance every 18-24 labour content and work organisation and may change the
months, confirming Moore’s law. Besides the consequenc- way the human factor is taking part and adding value in
es of Moore’s law, the internet of things has also been many industrial value chains (Bauernhansl, 2014). This
profiting from a convergence of multiple technologies, may not only have consequences for low-skilled workers
which have become so cost attractive that their compre- and their operational shop floor activities, but also for
hensive application is now feasible (Kagermann, 2014). high-skilled white collar and management representatives.
On top of that, particularly in Germany, with its compara-
tively large industrial base, representing 22 percent of the
gross domestic product, such implications may put the
local workforce under significant pressure to sustain their

Journal of Business and Media Psychology (JBMP) l ISSN 2191-5814

 Bonekamp & Sure 34

employability and associated attractiveness for the future technological advancements would have less impact than
labour market. former ones. Gordon projects a diminishing usefulness of
innovation compared to the great inventions of the past,
In view of this situation, this article firstly provides an but he does not specifically comment on the impact of
overview of the current discussion on the consequences of new computer and software technologies on jobs (Gordon,
Industry 4.0 on jobs and secondly contributes further 2012).
research results to this context, interviewing a panel of
seven representatives from industry, consulting and sci- Similarly, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, who pro-
ence institutions on their views about the respective im- ject significant economic changes resulting from the rapid-
pact of Industry 4.0 on labour content and work organisa- ly growing appearance of cyber physical systems, are
tion. rather skeptical about potential positive job impacts aris-
ing from Industry 4.0 and therefore expect an intensifying
competition for jobs fed by a race between technological
2 Literature Review
and educational progress. In their view, technological
The following section provides an overview of the relevant advancements would not only tend to eliminate routine
topic-related publications regarding possible implications jobs, but also high-skilled jobs defined by pattern recogni-
of Industry 4.0, internet of things and cyber physical sys- tion and cognitive non-routine tasks (Bowles, 2014;
tems on the human factor, with particular reference to Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2014). Similar to Ford in his work,
labour content and work organisation. Brynjolfsson and McAfee bring forward a set of measures
to mitigate negative impacts from cyber physical systems
In an analysis based on the situation in 2009, Martin Ford and to compensate for job losses arising from ever ad-
designed a comprehensive scenario of the implications vancing computer and software technologies, such as
cyber physical systems and the rapidly increasing capabili- better education, more focus on entrepreneurship and
ties of computer technology may have on human employ- startups, more support for academic research or the in-
ability and work organisation. According to his analysis, troduction of Pigovian and negative income taxes
technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learn- (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2014). Those measures tend to
ing and software automation applications would no longer go in the same direction as the ones Ford is proposing,
primarily impact low-wage, uneducated workers, but though lacking a more comprehensive social impact anal-
would also increasingly enable computers to fulfill jobs ysis.
that require significant training and education. Conse-
quently, university graduates who perform highly skilled Further to this, Frey and Osborne undertook a study in
jobs would find themselves threatened by machines and which they addressed the question of how susceptible jobs
software algorithms that would be able to perform sophis- are to computerisation. Using a Gaussian process classifi-
ticated analysis and decision making (Ford, 2009). er, they estimated the probability of computerisation for
702 detailed occupations in the US labour market in order
In Ford’s view, ongoing progress in manufacturing auto- to analyse the potential jobs at risk and to assess poten-
mation and the introduction of advanced commercial ro- tial correlations between computerisation probability,
bots would continue to reduce opportunities for low-skilled wages and educational attainment (Frey & Osborne,
workers simultaneously. He believes that technological 2013). Such computerisation risks range from 99 percent
progress is relentless, and machines and computers would for telemarketers to 0.28 percent for recreational thera-
eventually approach the point where they would match or pists. The main result of their study is that 47 percent of
exceed the average worker's ability to perform most rou- US jobs are exposed to the risk of becoming redundant
tine work tasks. Ford draws the conclusion that the result through computerisation. According to Frey and Osborne,
of this development is likely to be structural unemploy- robots would not only be able to perform standardised
ment that ultimately impacts the workforce at virtually all programmes, but also sophisticated tasks beyond routine
levels from workers without high school diplomas to those in future times. They further provided evidence of a
who hold graduate degrees (Ford, 2009). This would ulti- strong negative correlation between an occupation’s com-
mately lead to the fact that the business models of mass puterisation probability and its wages and educational
market industries would be threatened, as there would attainment, promoting the argumentation of other authors
simply be too few viable consumers to purchase their that computerisation risk is particularly apparent for low-
products, resulting in a new social and tax system de- skilled jobs (Frey & Osborne, 2013). As a consequence,
signed to impose higher taxes on capital in order to be most of the lower skilled human jobs would be eliminated
able to nurture a significantly bigger class of unemployed and replaced through technology, leading to the remaining
people. human jobs becoming more complex and comprehensive.
In an attempt to transfer this study approach from the US
Drawing from a classification provided by Jeremy Bowles
to Europe, Bowles came to the conclusion that Northern
in his recent publication on the computerisation of Euro-
European countries such as France, Germany, Sweden
pean jobs, Ford - in view of his conclusions - may be as-
and the UK show similar results as the US and would
signed to the camp of skeptics who are fairly conservative
potentially be less affected by computerisation risk than
about overall future job opportunities against the back-
Southern European countries, which have a range from 45
ground of consequences resulting from industry 4.0
to over 60 percent of the work force that could be affected
(Bowles, 2014). In the same camp, the recent work of
by a potential level of high and persistent unemployment
Robert Gordon has put forward a hypothesis that in a
(Bowles, 2014).
coming period of expected low economic growth, new
 Consequences of Industry 4.0 on Human Labour and Work Organisation 35

In a recent survey conducted by Fraunhofer IAO, 518

representatives in industrial companies were asked about
their views on the consequences of Industry 4.0. 51 per-
cent expected less manual activities while 54 percent of
the respondents anticipated an increase in planning and
control activities. 86 percent of the surveyed representa-
tives estimated an increasing importance of life-long
learning, while 77 percent expected a higher importance
of interdisciplinary cooperation and 76 percent anticipated
higher standards for IT competence. In view of these
findings, Fraunhofer scientists expect workforces to shrink
as a result of cyber physical systems, but they do not
believe in a future scenario where factories will operate
completely without the intervention of human beings
(Fraunhofer IAO & Ingenics AG, 2014). In a further study
conducted by the Institute for Leadership Culture in the
Digital Age amongst first and second level managers of
Illustration 2: Distribution of Occupational Employment over the 100 companies in Germany, the authors examined how
Probability of Computerisation based on US Employment Data (Frey & digitalisation would change work contents and procedures
Osborne, 2013) and came to the conclusion that teamwork would become
more important (85 percent of responses), employees
On the contrary, Boston Consulting Group, in an exclusive
would pay more attention on social media risk (82 per-
study for a German management journal, projected a
cent), customer ideas would play a stronger part in prod-
rather positive future scenario on the consequences of
uct development (80 percent), work life would become
Industry 4.0. They estimated that based on implications
more flexible (80 percent) and partner networks would be
derived from Industry 4.0 technologies, more than
gaining more importance (79 percent). Finally, 77 percent
100,000 new jobs could be created in mechanical engi-
of all surveyed managers confirmed that digitalisation
neering and construction within a period of 10 years. They
would increase pressure on them (IFIDZ & FAZ-Institut,
built their logic on the fact that the introduction of cyber
2014; Engeser, 2015).
physical systems would require a significant amount of
additional employees with specialised technical expertise.
Boston Consulting Group also hinted in this context the 3 Supplementary expert panel interviews
growing importance of IT and programming skills for em- Against the background of the above literature review
ployees (Maier & Student, 2014). results, a non-representative expert panel review has
been performed which aimed at supplementing the re-
Hirsch-Kreinsen analysed the consequences of Industry search on human work force-related impacts of Industry
4.0 on operational, indirect and management tasks and 4.0, internet of things and cyber physical systems through
activities. On the operational working level, he came to an interview-based approach. Interviews were held on a
the conclusion that lower skilled jobs containing simple semi-structured survey basis, enabling a problem-focused
and repetitive activities would be replaced to a large ex- approach and allowing to conduct a personalised discus-
tent by intelligent and cyber physical systems (Hirsch- sion alongside the survey, leading towards the disclosure
Kreinsen, 2014). He also projected a tendency towards of detailed subjective views and information from the
de-qualification on the level of skilled workers or techni- interviewed experts on the research topic (Mayring,
cians, as such systems might lead to more automation in 2010).
former domains dominated by human supervision, such as
control, supervising and scheduling activities. Apart from Interview partners have been selected from different
that, he sees a reversing trend towards more job enrich- environments in order to obtain a balanced and differenti-
ment, as new technologies would lead to higher decentral- ated view on the research topic. As a result, representa-
isation in decision and planning processes, going along tives from both manufacturing and consulting firms as
with the need for higher process integration and cross- well as from university institutions have been chosen. As
functional perspectives (Hirsch-Kreinsen, 2014). This the human factor is in the consequential research focus, a
would consequently result in a further reduction of hierar- balance has been reached in the selection of representa-
chical levels and to less demand for central management tives with engineering and research background, of repre-
capacities. On the indirect working level, processes such sentatives in management positions with know-how and
as quality assurance and maintenance would likely to be experience in change and project management and finally
subject to further automation, whereby increasing com- of representatives with a consulting background and par-
plexity arising from integrated process and system archi- ticular expertise in business psychology. The interview
tectures would most probably require more demand for panel consisted of seven interview partners, thereof four
cross-functional management control capabilities and with an engineering and three with a business administra-
capacities in trouble shooting and improvisation, a view- tion and psychology background, one university professor
point also shared by Porter and Heppelmann to a certain and one PhD research scientist, two top managers and
extent in their analysis how smart products would change one project manager as well as two consultants. Interview
competition (Hirsch-Kreinsen, 2014; Porter & Hep- panelists have been ranked in three age categories, em-
pelmann, 2014). bracing categories from 26 up to 40 years (two represent-
 Bonekamp & Sure 36

atives), from 41 up to 55 years (one representative) and new ones. This is particularly projected for the area of
from 56 up to 70 years (four representatives) going along planning and control and for IT jobs. The interviewees are
with a track record concerning their current positions of also in accord with their views on the consequences for
less than three years (two interviewees), between 3 and employee supervision and control. They argue that due to
ten years (two interviewees) and more than ten years the introduction of cyber physical systems, processes and
(three interviewees). All the interviewed persons had activities would become completely transparent for man-
experience with industry 4.0-related technologies and/or agement, and would pose a lot of challenges on individual
with associated implementation processes and projects, rights concerning data protection.
thereof four representatives with an experience back-
ground of more than two and a half up to four years, two Interviewees expect cyber physical systems and the cor-
representatives of more than one up to two and a half responding digitalisation of the work environment to im-
years and one of up to one year. Interviewees have been pose new requirements on qualifications and capabilities
contacted based on personal knowledge (one representa- of employees. According to their views, this would lead to
tive), based on third person’s references (three represent- higher levels of adaptability and flexibility. The latter
atives) or based on “cold calls” after associated internet would go along with the need for continuous learning and
research (three representatives). Another three contacts a stronger need for personal responsibility to assess and
had been identified as suitable experts to be interviewed undertake necessary training and education measures at
in this context, but finally turned down their participation. their own initiative beyond the level provided by employ-
The interviews have been designed to be conducted for a ers. There is also consensus on the fact that digitalisation
period of approximately 30 minutes, whereby six of them and internet of things would result in a generally higher
have been conducted over the phone and one face-to- degree of complexity in work processes, which would
face. A detailed description of the interview panel’s de- coincide with a growing demand for higher skilled special-
mographics is provided in appendix 2 of this article. ists. In this respect, participants also argue that continu-
ous learning, training and education would automatically
The questionnaires were sent to the interview partners boost employability and therefore reduce the risk of long-
prior to the interviews in order for them to better prepare term unemployment for employees, even if they were to
themselves for the discussion process. The questionnaire be made redundant temporarily.
has been developed on the basis of current research work
and has been pre-discussed and refined in a discussion Interviewed experts share the view that Industry 4.0
with a panel of scientists with educational engineering would enforce a closer cross-functional cooperation be-
background. It consisted of seven main chapters contain- tween different company units, leading towards the estab-
ing personal questions on the interviewed person, on lishment of cross-company partner networks. Here, most
Industry 4.0 in general, on preparations for Industry 4.0, of them see bigger hurdles for German companies. In
on objections and fears regarding Industry 4.0, as well as contrast to the American and Asian conglomerates, where
on employee motivation, new jobs and further develop- cross-company cooperation is already being intensely
ments derived from Industry 4.0. Interview results have practised and supported by the governments, this is still
been recorded and subsequently transcribed. Further to not a common phenomenon in German companies. They
the transcription, text results have been structured and further argue that necessary change management initia-
categorised according to major topics followed by a specif- tives and measures should accompany required changes
ic coding. The coding process resulted in a category sys- in labour content and work processes even before such
tem which has been designed to structure and guide the changes are introduced, as many of these changes may
information data evaluation process. The selected catego- go along with significant consequences for the respective
ries comprise the following: (1) estimated time horizon employees in terms of substance and organisation of their
until a comprehensive, industry-wide application of cyber daily work, making a proactive change management ap-
physical systems and internet of things in German com- proach necessary. In this respect, participants are of the
panies is carried out, (2) modification of the work envi- opinion that the expected higher job transfer rates within
ronment, (3) modification of job profiles, (4) change companies and within their partner networks would need
measures and (5) social consequences. The corresponding to be prepared and smoothened through suitable change
full list of designed categories and codes is provided in measures in order to keep employees motivated and avoid
appendix 1 of this paper. negative psychological consequences.

Interviewed experts conclude in general that it may take In terms of industry sector impact, a more diverse spec-
rather decades than years before Industry 4.0 technology trum of experts’ opinions becomes evident. Some argue
would fully evolve in German companies with particular that most of the jobs in the agricultural sector would be at
reference to industries with job process-dominated pro- risk, whereas others have a more conservative view on
duction structures. Participants agree on the fact that the scope of replaceable activities and work processes
simple, highly standardised physical human activities within the sector. The experts basically agree on the fact
would be eliminated and replaced by computerised auto- that the potential for job redundancies through Industry
mated systems and devices. The scientists envision a 4.0 technologies is limited in the care sector, as machines
more aggressive development towards smart factories would not be able to compete with human beings in show-
with very little remaining employees in production pro- ing empathy to patients. Most of them think that this
cesses compared to the other interviewed experts. There sector might provide job potentials for employees who
is agreement among the participants that Industry 4.0 have been made redundant in production processes. On
technologies would not only eliminate jobs but also create the topic of tax ruling, interviewees brought up the idea of
 Consequences of Industry 4.0 on Human Labour and Work Organisation 37

a basic income for everybody, making jobs possible that initiative embracing industrial and educational policies has
would not be paid sufficiently high enough to maintain a to be negotiated between the company managements and
living. They also commonly criticise that human labour is their union counterparts, which could ultimately lead to-
still in the focus of taxation and suggest instead higher wards the principle right to lifelong regular education
VAT rates. (Kurz, 2013; DPZ, 2014). Future work organisation would
be significantly more marked by close cooperation be-
4 Discussion tween machines and workers than it is today which would
most probably lead to further emphasis on change man-
A consolidated view on the aforementioned literature agement initiatives and measures (Paul, 2014).
review results supplemented by the findings of the above
described non-representative sample of expert panel in- In a certain way, there is also agreement across current
terviews leads to the conclusion that the pressure on literature with regards to the consequences of Industry
human working environment would be likely to increase in 4.0 in terms of a necessary intensification of cross-
the future, whereby the majority anticipates a significant functional cooperation as well as cross-company partner
decrease in lower skilled highly standardized jobs, being networking. Especially the latter aspect has been contro-
replaced by cyber physical systems to a large extent. With versially discussed in recent articles. Some authors are
regards to higher skilled jobs, research results suggest a rather skeptical in their assessment on the initiatives of
more diverse future scenario, leading towards less de- German industrial companies towards cooperation with
mand for central management capacities, further automa- competitors. Those industrial companies are facing the
tion of indirect processes and more demand for decentral risk of losing their competitive advantage and may conse-
integrative and cross functional management capabilities quently lag behind American technological companies such
leading to the consequence that planning and control jobs as Google or Apple, who are aggressively trying to enter
would gain more importance. In addition, a growing im- traditional industries like mechanical engineering and
portance of teamwork, interdisciplinary cooperation and automotive also by intending to leverage on the expertise
partner networks is expected, along with an increase in of their network partners (Maier & Student, 2014; Som-
flexibility of individual work life, attention towards social merfeldt, 2015). Finally, significant parts of the current
media risks and IT and programming capability require- literature along with interviewed German experts are in
ments for all levels. German expert panel interviews re- accord in their opinion that in order to balance off job
veal a more conservative view on the time horizon re- redundancies and associated tax revenue losses, tax rules
quired before the actual impact of Industry 4.0 technolo- and regulations would need to be reformed and trans-
gies may take place compared to their American and An- formed into a system less dependent on income from
glo-Saxon peers, whereby this view corresponds to a labour taxes. This topic has only recently been further
certain extent with recent doubts about the readiness of discussed in the context of the debate on the introduction
significant parts of German small and medium-sized com- of an unconditional basic income as a potential conse-
panies to face the challenges of digitalisation and cyber quence of the growing shift towards income from capital
physical systems and to progressively advance towards gains at the expense of income from human labour (Blasi
the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies into their & Freeman & Kruse, 2013; Piketty, 2013; Laudenbach &
business models (Maier & Student, 2014; MHP, 2014). Heuer, 2015).

In a certain way, the reduction of manual and standardis-

5 Conclusion
able jobs and the corresponding shift towards higher qual-
ified jobs could also help to make the remaining jobs more A review of current literature on implications of Industry
secure (Doll, 2015). Against the background of substantial 4.0 on human labour and work organization reveals a
demographic changes projected to lead to a reduction of rather consistent view particularly on job redundancies for
the number of available skilled workers by around six low-skilled jobs and the necessary shift towards more
million until the year 2030, estimated job loss potentials high-skilled complex jobs which require a generally more
might be less problematic than currently thought (Paul, intense focus on continuous learning and education. How-
2014). In this context, interviewed German experts are of ever, it becomes evident that a growing number of re-
the opinion that due to a boost in the transparency of searchers view the implications of Industry 4.0 technolo-
individual performance data supervised and controlled gies not only from a microeconomic but also from a mac-
through digitalised processes, additional challenges would roeconomic point of view addressing consequences from a
be imposed on data protection rights, which has been only broader perspective especially with reference to implica-
partly but not consistently and comprehensively ad- tions for social welfare and tax systems which may be
dressed in the current literature. This may be due to the completely reviewed in order to compensate for lost job
fact that such topics are still not of equal importance to income and balance off growing inequality. In general,
both companies and public in the US or UK compared to German companies appear to be more reserved about the
Germany or other countries in continental Europe. Current time horizon it may take for German industry to fully
literature review results estimate that the growing com- leverage on Industry 4.0 technologies realising all its
plexity as a result of digitalisation and the associated consequences on human labour and work organization
growing demand for higher skilled and flexible specialists compared to their American and Anglo-Saxon peers. To
would necessarily lead towards an increase in the im- what extent those consequences would become evident
portance of continuous learning, training and education. and materialise in the future remains uncertain at this
This aspect would also be of particular interest for unions point in time. How such new technologies may affect
and associated working councils, as an integrated future worker well-being and inequality is also most likely de-
 Bonekamp & Sure 38

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 Consequences of Industry 4.0 on Human Labour and Work Organisation 39

C 5.1 Impact on daily life situation

Appendix C 5.2 Repatriation of automated processes from low cost
countries
A1: Categories and Codes
C 5.3 Potential redefinition of sources of income
C 5.4 Idea of a basic income
C 1 Time horizon until comprehensive, industry-wide ap- C 5.5 Shift in the importance of tax bases (income tax vs
plication VAT)
C 1.1 Speed of development
C 1.2 Industry sector dependence
C 1.3 Full scope implementation timeframe
C 1.4 Evolutionary vs. revolutionary process
C 1.5 Consequence of application delay A2: Demographics of and additional information
C 2 Modification of work environment about interviewed expert panel
C 2.1 Degree of process change
C 2.2 Degree of process automation Interview 1
C 2.3 Higher skilled vs. lower skilled jobs Scientist / Chair in Production Systems
C 2.4 Implications of greater data availability Technological University
C 2.5 Process performance traceability Male
C 2.6 More focus on IT capabilities Age Category 41-55
C 2.7 Different IT skill requirements Job Experience in Position: 6-10 Years
C 2.8 Digital footprint Experience with Industry 4.0: approx. 4 Years
C 2.9 Increasing transparency vs data protection rights Automation Expert
C 2.10 New relation between planning and execution tasks Contact Establishment: "Cold" after Internet-based Research
C 2.11 More focus on value-adding activities Telephone administered interview
C 2.12 Smarter information management 17 December 2014
C 2.13 Digital information flow between devices 20 Minutes
C 2.14 Trend towards autonomous machine planning
activities
C 2.15 Continuous reduction of routine process time Interview 2
C 2.16 Less human control activities Head of Division & Competence Center
C 2.17 Degree of replacement of human activities through Private Company / Mechanical Engineering
electronic devices and machines Male
C 2.18 Service activities to remain in humans hands Age Category 56-70
C 2.19 Demographic change coincidence with automation Job Experience in Position: 3-6 Years
levels approx. 1,5 Years
C 2.20 Transfer of physically hard work from workers to Digital Manufacturing & Factory Setup Expert
machines Contact Establishment: Facilitated through third
C.3 Modification of job profiles person reference
C 3.1 Increasing speed of change Telephone administered interview
C 3.2 Increasing challenges and pressure to adapt to 17 December 2014
changes for employees 28 Minutes
C 3.3 Increasing IT know how importance
C 3.4 Changing job requirements and profiles
C 3.5 More intense cooperation between workers and Interview 3
machines Project Management
C 3.6 More job redundancies for unskilled workers Private Company / Mechanical Engineering
C 3.7 Increasing importance of disposition and planning Male
activities Age Category 26-40
C 3.8 Need for continuous learning and qualification Job Experience in Position: < 3 Years
C 3.9 Remaining uncertainty about future job landscape approx. 1 Year
C 3.10 Social tensions as a results of job redundancies Expert for Cyber Physical Systems
C 3.11 New lines of work to be defined Contact Establishment: "Cold" after Internet-
C 3.12 Government support to facilitate changes based Research
measures Telephone administered interview
C 4 Change measures 18 December 2014
C 4.1 Cultural change requirements 59 Minutes
C 4.2 Challenges for employee motivation
C 4.3 Need for open and continuous communication
C 4.4 Different/more cooperation between functions and Interview 4
between companies Scientist / Postgraduate
C 4.5 Government initiatives on skill development Technological University
C 4.6 Cooperation with working council Male
C 4.7 Resistance to change Age Category 26-40
C 4.8 Need for individual treatment and support for em- Job Experience in Position: < 3 Years
ployees approx. 1,5 Years
C 4.9 Employee age as important differentiator Research in Industry 4.0
C 4.10 Need for open-minded employees Contact Establishment: "Cold" after Inter-
C 4.11 Transparency on job profile changes net-based Research
C 4.12 Fear about job redundancies and/or loss of “big Telephone administered interview
picture” 19 December 2014
C 4.13 Impact of changes in input-output relations on 31 Minutes
employees
C 5 Social consequences
 Bonekamp & Sure 40

Interview 5
Board Member
Private Company / FMCG
Male
Age Category 56-70
Job Experience in Position: > 10 Years
approx. 4 Years
Experience in Industrie 4.0
Contact Establishment: Facilitated through third person
reference
Telephone administered interview
20 December 2014
48 Minutes

Interview 6
Consultant
Consulting Company
Male
Age Category 56-70
Job Experience in Position: > 10 Years
approx. 4 Years
Experience in Industrie 4.0 -related Projects
Contact Establishment: Facilitated through third person
reference
Telephone administered interview
03 January 2015
35 Minutes

Interview 7
Consultant
Consulting Company
Male
Age Category 56-70
Job Experience in Position: > 10 Years
approx. 4 Years
Experience in Industrie 4.0 -related Projects
Contact Establishment: Personally known
Face-to-Face interview
06 January 2015
11 Minutes