Analysis of barriers of cyber-physical system adoption in small and medium enterprises using interpretive ranking process

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report a study on analysis of barriers for cyber-physical system (CPS) adoption in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach: In Industry 4.0 scenario, Indian SMEs are struggling to bring their manufacturing processes in line with large manufacturing sector. CPS is considered as the backbone of Industry 4.0, and its implementation in SMEs will make significant changes pertaining to manufacturing automation. However, due to the lack of a proper CPS implementation strategy, SMEs face many challenges in its adoption. Hence, this study identified 18 possible barriers and seven performance measures pertaining to CPS adoption in Indian SMEs. Interpretive ranking process (IRP) is used to develop the contextual relationships among CPS barriers. IRP process include structured step-by-step matrix-based approach in which dominance among various alternatives is determined using performance measures developing a structured ranking model. Findings: The developed IRP model revealed that CPS barriers “Lack of skilled manpower (CPSB2)” and “Lack of robustness with respect to environmental conditions in automotive environments (CPSB7)” are the most significant barriers (top two) hindering CPS adoption in SMEs. Research limitations/implications: In the present study, barriers for CPS adoption has been analyzed. In future, barriers for adopting other Industry 4.0 technologies could be analyzed. Practical implications: The present research work is one of the few studies which analyzed CPS barriers in SMEs and provided improvement suggestions to the most significant barriers for its smooth adoption. The managerial and practical implications have been derived. Originality/value: The analysis of barriers for CPS adoption in SMEs is the original contribution of the authors.