Cross-country comparative analysis of digital manufacturing systems

National governments of developing and developed nations are racing to enhance the competitiveness of their manufacturing ecosystems through the introduction of Digital Manufacturing Systems (DMS), commonly known as Industry 4.0 (I4.0). Multiple challenges on several fronts have led to the proliferation of different DMS strategies. This chapter reviews and compares the digital manufacturing strategies of six nations (i.e. USA, China, UK, Germany, Japan and India) to assess their relative performance and identify salient implementation dimensions necessary to develop and predict the performance of Digital Manufacturing ecosystems. In the process, we adopted a qualitative case analysis approach, drawing on policy documents and extant literature pertaining to the six subject nations. Relying on inductive logic, within and cross-case analysis was conducted across the six nations to develop a Digital orientation framework. It was found that strategic dimensions emphasised in DMS strategies of nations are highly dependent on national priorities, which are determined by the global business landscape. We compared and contrasted the future manufacturing characteristics expected by these countries and summarised the important DMS implementation strategies in these countries