Industry 4.0 and co-creation in new product development

The value delivered to consumers depends on providing superior and reliable service using technology. The technologies of Industry 4.0 are interactive in nature, but literature lacks the studies focusing on analyzing their impact on new product development and customer participation therein. This empirical work on made in Italy firms is aimed at extending the implication of customer participation in product development in Industry 4.0 settings. The results show that Robotics, Laser Cutting and Augmented reality have positive impact on customer participation and the companies with increased use of Industry 4.0 technologies allow more customer participation in product development. Study also offers practical implications for managers and a guideline for the firms which have already invested or planning to invest in Industry 4.0 technologies