The Adoption of Industry 4.0 Technologies Among Ghanaian Manufacturing Firms: A Technology Readiness and Acceptance Model Perspective

Abstract

Industry 4.0 refers to a set of multi-dimensional concepts for corporate operations based on cyber physical systems (CPS) and the Internet of Things (IoT), such as computerization, digitalization, and Artificial Intelligence. Studies on Industry 4.0 appear to be Europe-centric at the moment. Previous studies indicated that there is a lack of responsiveness in many developing and underdeveloped countries in embracing Industry 4.0 in their manufacturing industries. The purpose of the study was therefore to examine the awareness of Industry 4.0 technologies among manufacturing firms in Ghana and to ascertain their readiness for accepting and embracing such technologies. To achieve this purpose, a convenience sampling technique was used to select the manufacturing firms. Purposive sampling was also employed to select the respondents from the selected manufacturing firms. The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling was used as the quantitative data analysis technique (PLS-SEM). The PLS-SEM is a statistical analysis method used to analyze multivariate structural relationships. The Technology Readiness and Acceptance Model (TRAM) proposed by Lin et al. (2007) was employed to provide the theoretical lens for the study. Awareness and support resources were introduced into the proposed model. The findings of the study revealed that manufacturing firms in Ghana are aware of Industry 4.0 technologies. The finding showed that Internet of Things was the most dominant technology that the manufacturing firms in Ghana are aware of. It was also revealed that, awareness influences firms’ intention to adopt a new technology. The study contributed to the knowledge already known about the readiness in accepting a new technology. The study added that awareness of a technology will influence the readiness to adopt a new technology. This finding of the study revealed that support resources do not moderate the relationship between perceived usefulness and intention to adopt industry 4.0 technologies.