Abstract

Technological advancements are giving rise to the fourth industrial revolution – Industry 4.0 – characterized by the mass employment of smart objects in highly reconfigurable and thoroughly connected industrial ecosystems. This chapter discusses what is the role of data, information, and knowledge in Industry 4.0 and demonstrates how knowledge-based activities of human and non-human actors lead to value co-creation. A multi-loop and three-layer (physical, virtual, and interface) model of knowledge dynamics in Industry 4.0 is used to provide an underlying mechanism of value co-creation in different Industry 4.0 scenarios (smart grid, smart factory, and smart logistics). The chapter concludes by drawing implications of adopting a knowledge-based perspective for the evolvement of new ecosystems.