Abstract

The article investigates the spread of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies among Italian businesses, relying on the V Survey on Businesses and Employment (RIL) carried out by the National Institute for Public Policy Analysis (INAPP). The descriptive analysis shows an uneven distribution of I4.0 technologies over the years 2015-2017. The application of multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and cluster analysis (CA) techniques reveals the existence of three main clusters of Italian firms, characterised by different degrees of digitalisation: “non-digital firmsµ, “digitising firmsµ, and “digital firmsµ. The first cluster is the largest one, consisting of small firms, which invest only in cybersecurity technologies, whereas the third cluster is the smallest one, consisting of averagely larger firms simultaneously investing in more than one I4.0 tech, thus adopting a “multi-technologyµ approach.