Integration and Scale in the Context of Industry 4.0: The Evolving Shapes of Manufacturing Value Chains

The historical evolution of manufacturing value chains (VCs) has evolved in parallel with the opportunities offered by automation and communication technologies. Since the mid-1980s, advances in telecommunications simplified the coordination of production and related activities, resulting in organizational specialization on single VC activities, while being geographically dispersed. A new wave of innovation is impacting business and society...