Innovation and Technology Management (SIMA)

The commercialization of highly technological products in the context of Industry 4.0: a B2B SMEs perspective

Andrea Sabatini, Sara Bartoloni, Gian Luca Gregori

The aim of this paper is to shed light on the issues and challenges that a SME faces in commercializing new and highly technological products in the context of Industry 4.0. Despite the pivotal role played by commercialization processes in SMEs new product development journeys, the issue remains still not enough understood by practitioners and scantly researched by academics. In addition, the fact that nowadays “highly technological products” can also be conceived as part of an Industry 4.0 paradigm makes the subject even more complex. As a matter of fact, firms are struggling to bring digital transformation into their manufacturing processes; consequently, firms that create and develop highly technological products are facing several challenges when it comes to commercialise these new solutions.

#B2B #Commercialization #Industry 4.0 product #New product development #SME