Aligning Organizational Orientations with Industry 4.0 for Climate Goals and Reduced Emissions

Abstract

In recent years the fourth industrial revolution known as Industry 4.0 (I4.0) with cyber systems and smart technologies has entered the stage. Just as previous industrial revolutions it has disrupted the way we do things and provided us with new possibilities and opportunities (Jan et al., 2023; Zelbst et al., 2019) and organizations need to learn how to utilize these technologies in order to continue creating value. Not only are disruptive technologies affecting organizations, but environmental changes are also a factor for organizations to take into consideration. Therefore, organizations need to not only invest in I4.0 technologies and sustainability, but also in organizational learning (Ivaldi et al., 2021). Many organizations have set their own climate goals and are using I4.0 technologies while working towards their climate goals and reducing emissions. I4.0 is a young research field (Müller et al., 2018). So far most research has been focusing on how the industry sector are using I4.0, while less attention has been given to other industries (P. Kumar et al., 2025). There is also a need for future research on how technologies can be used to achieve carbon neutrality (Bhatia et al., 2024), other climate goals and reduced emissions. Bag (2023) highlights how important it is for managers to prioritize organizational learning and utilize I4.0 technologies to achieve a net zero economy. Hopefully this study enhances our understanding of how I4.0 technologies can be used to achieve climate goals and reduce emissions from an organizational learning perspective. This master thesis is an explorative phenomenology qualitative research method study. The purpose is to gain a deeper understanding of how Norwegian organizations perceive the role of emerging technologies while working towards their climate goals and reduced emissions. Nine interviews were conducted with people working in four different industries and sectors that are using I4.0 technologies and are working towards climate goals, helping other organizations achieve their climate goals or working towards reducing their emissions. This study is limited to interviewees from four different industries and sectors in Norway and the results show that the views seem coherent that Norwegian organizations perceive the role of I4.0 technologies as significant when working towards climate goals and reduced emissions. I4.0 technologies have a versatile role that keeps growing where new areas of use are constantly widening. The perception of I4.0 technologies from this study is that they are not the solution to reduce emissions, but rather a tool or an aid that can help organizations to reduce emissions. They can provide, for example, information which can contribute to better decision-making of where the organizations can optimize activities to reduce emissions. The interviewed organizations are mostly team-, learning- and system oriented. The findings suggest teamwork as a good working method, since working towards climate goals with I4.0 technologies requires that several different angles are considered, therefore many of the team were also described as interdisciplinary. The findings suggest being learning oriented, seeing the importance of learning and trying new things, not being afraid of mistakes and rather seeing them as a learning opportunity is important while working towards climate goals and reducing emissions with I4.0 technology. It is also important that the climate goal is anchored in the organization and the employees know how they are contributing towards the goal