Enabling technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
John G. Mooney, Michael L. Williams
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors provide an overview of the key digital technologies that are enabling the Fourth Industrial Revolution. They categorize an expanded list of technologies first identified by Schwab (2015) and familiarize the reader with each technology and its functionality. To provide conceptual simplicity, they identify seven technology categories and describe the major affordances of each technology category: computing technologies, content technologies, connectivity technologies, collaboration technologies, contextual technologies, automation technologies, and cognitive technologies. They further discuss contemporary applications of each technology, as well as the opportunities and challenges for strategic leaders to effectively identify their strategic implications.