Study of SMEs from electrical engineering industry providing smart services in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Research background: A buzzword such as industry 4.0, digitalization and smart services are tracking economic news in recent time. The world has changed over the last decade from a mainly physical to software controlled economy. Many manufacturers provide a lot of accompanying services to their products. However, not all of them supply smart services with the expectation of achieving better performance, portfolio expansion and long-term cooperation with their customers. Purpose of the article: The aim of the paper is to find out differences between providers and non-providers of smart services and across subcategory of smart service providers in cooperation flexibility, innovation flexibility in product and accompanying services and performance. Methods: A quantitative research was held among 112 electro-technical SMEs in Czech Republic. The analysis is based on descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests to compare the differences in electrical industry and across providers of smart services in key areas. Findings & Value added: The findings show that the differences are statistically significant. The results in the field of electrical engineering suggest that the found diversity (patterns of behavior) could also help managers in this field and policies aimed at supporting the development of small businesses in this context.