Industry 4.0 policy from a sociotechnical perspective: The case of German competence centres

A growing body of literature suggests that Industry 4.0 is the result of complex interactions and coordination between technical and social aspects in pursuit of the digital transformation of production processes. Policy solutions and instruments adopted by governments at various levels of the system contribute to catalysing the sociotechnical changes underpinning Industry 4.0. However, the role of intermediary organisations in changing sociotechnical systems and overcoming ecosystem limitations remains largely unexplored. This paper aims at addressing this research gap. Through extensive fieldwork, we explore the case of German competence centres created by the federal government for supporting the digitalisation of SMEs to provide a greater understanding of how intermediary organisations operate in the context of a sociotechnical transition. Specifically, we characterise the role of intermediary organisations in supporting innovation ecosystem participants in engaging with the sociotechnical changes underpinning the Industry 4.0 production system. We suggest the term systemic meta-intermediary for describing a network of intermediary organisations incorporating multiple and heterogeneous competences, with the ultimate goal of facilitating and shaping the transition of a complex sociotechnical system. Actionable insights into how intermediaries can accelerate sociotechnical transitions and extend the benefits generated within Industry 4.0 innovation ecosystems are offered.