Central European Business Review X:X | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.394

Industry 4.0 Technologies in SMEs and Differences According to the Size and Sector of the Company: The Case of the Czech Republic

Lukáš Klarner ORCID...1, Petr Řehoř ORCID...2, Jaroslav Vrchota ORCID...3, Monika Maříková ORCID...4
1 University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Economics, Department of Management, České Budějovice, Czech Republic. Email: klarnl00@ef.jcu.cz (corresponding author)
2 University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Economics, Department of Management, České Budějovice, Czech Republic. Email: rehor@ef.jcu.cz
3 AMBIS University in Prague, Department of Economics and Management, Prague, Czech Republic. Email: vrchota@ef.jcu.cz
4 University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Economics, Department of Management, České Budějovice, Czech Republic. Email: marikova@ef.jcu.cz

The article focuses on adoption Industry 4.0 technologies in the Czech Republic's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It examines how the size of the enterprise and the sector affect the level of implementation of these technologies. The main objective is to observe the differences in the use of modern technologies in SMEs based on the size of the enterprise and the sector in which they operate and to identify the main barriers to their implementation. The research was conducted online between October 2023 and January 2024, involving 240 respondents from various sectors. The statistical analyses included a non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA), the Kruskal-Wallis test, ordinal logistic regression, and the Dunn test. The results show that larger enterprises tend to implement modern technologies more frequently than smaller enterprises, with the main barrier being a lack of financial resources. It was also found that the sector in which a company operates does not have a statistically significant impact on the level of implementation of Industry 4.0, but it is a specific predictor of implementing specific technologies in some cases. These findings highlight the need for targeted support for smaller enterprises in education, skill development, and securing financial resources for technology investments.
Implications for Central European audience: The theoretical use of the article lies in expanding knowledge about the factors influencing the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies in small and medium-sized enterprises. The practical application focuses on identifying the barriers that hinder the implementation of these technologies and provides recommendations for improving support for small and medium-sized enterprises in adopting modern technologies, mainly through education and financial support.

Keywords: Industry 4.0; SMEs; technology; innovation

Received: September 12, 2024; Revised: November 11, 2024; Accepted: December 9, 2024; Prepublished online: March 30, 2025 

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