Technological Capabilities for the Adoption of Industry 4.0 in a Multi-Latin Mexican Company

Industry 4.0 faces great challenges in developing countries, such as Mexico, especially in terms of its effective adoption and modernization. The adoption of these new technologies presupposes the existence of productive organizations endowed with innovative technological capabilities, supported by national infrastructure. The following paper aims to discuss the motivations, strategy and technological capabilities required for the adoption of Industry 4.0 by a Mexican large company. The case is the process of adoption of Industry 4.0, and the unit of observation is a Mexican multi-Latin company, with its headquarters in Mexico and facilities in Brazil and Spain, which is part of global value chains in the automotive industry producing auto parts. This company faces pressure from clients (the global value chain) and competitors to advance in the adoption of Industry 4.0. The evidence shows that the adoption process is neither linear nor automatic and it is highly costly.