Industry 4.0: Challenges and opportunities for Kazakhstan SMEs

Industry 4.0 concept is one of the growing concepts worldwide for the last five years. It combines the physical and digital world, thus creating new capabilities which affect not only the manufacturing industry but to all other sectors and organizations. Furthermore, many experts worldwide declare that Industry 4.0 will have a substantially positive impact, especially in developing countries, where low-paid jobs are concentrated. After facing the social and economic effects of Coronavirus (Covid-19) global pandemic, the introduction of digitalization and moving toward Industry 4.0 has become not only emerging but essential for every industry, including SMEs. It is expected that it will help to improve the flexibility, productivity, and sustainability of the industries, to develop a knowledge-based economy and society, and, thus, enhance the quality of life. Therefore, this paper aims to analyze the emerging concept of Industry 4.0, impacts and applicability on SMEs, and, in particular, the readiness of SMEs in Kazakhstan to digitization and Industry 4.0. The gap in research, which exists currently about drivers, challenges, barriers, and opportunities specific for SMEs in Kazakhstan for moving towards Industry 4.0, will also be investigated.