Manufacturing in Industry 4.0: A Scoping Review of Open Innovation Practices and Future Research

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), first introduced in 2011, has enabled manufacturing firms to integrate smart, technology-driven processes into their Product Development (PD) lifecycles. At the same time, advancements and increased acceptance of web-based platforms have enabled manufacturing leaders to leverage open innovation practices. This approach provides firms with access to pools of external knowledge and skills, accelerating their product innovation and enabling faster responses to market and consumer demands. This paper aims to examine the literature on open innovation in manufacturing, in the context of the Industry 4.0 era (i.e., since its widespread acceptance in 2014) and provides directions for future study. Through a scoping review of 891 papers collected from the Web of Science (WoS) database covering 2014-2023, co-occurrence analysis was performed using the VOSviewer software. By following this approach, four main themes were identified i.e., innovation management practices, performance measurement, strategic challenges, and the balance between innovation exploration and exploitation. Findings demonstrate a shift among firms towards collaborative and externally inclusive innovation. This study highlights several research gaps and provides practical insights for manufacturing leaders on the opportunities and barriers to open innovation adoption, outlining the importance of absorptive capacity and a balanced innovation strategy. Recommendations for future research include empirical studies on open innovation’s long-term impacts, cross-industry comparisons, and how technological advancements can be integrated into innovation strategies.