Barriers to Adoption Industry 4.0 in Textile Sector: Analyzing Challenges in Transitioning to Smart Manufacturing With ISM and MICMAC

In the contemporary competitive landscape, industrial organisations are compelled to augment their innovation capacities and productivity levels through Industry 4.0 technologies. However, the adoption of these disruptive technologies is challenging for large manufacturing organisations, such as the textile industry in developing countries like Pakistan, where the Industry 4.0 paradigm is still in its early stages. This study examines the potential barriers that may hinder Pakistan’s textile industry from experiencing the Industry 4.0 revolution. Twenty-six barriers have been recognized through a systematic literature review and validated through surveys and interviews with senior-level automation engineers from the textile industry and academia. The Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) approach was employed to identify the linkages among inhibiting barriers, and Matrix of Cross-Impact Multiplication Applied to a Classification (MICMAC) analysis was used to determine the driving and dependent powers of these identified barriers concerning the adoption of Industry 4.0. The study reveals that overcoming the barriers to implementing Industry 4.0 strategically and systematically is crucial for the Pakistani textile industry to achieve optimal performance and stay competitive in the market during the digital revolution. The research identifies key driving factors such as technological infrastructure limitations and inadequate government support, while financial constraints and organizational resistance emerge as significant dependent factors. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and industry leaders to facilitate the digital transformation of Pakistan’s textile sector, highlighting the importance of developing technological infrastructure, enhancing workforce skills, and implementing supportive government policies.