Conceptual research framework

The purpose of this chapter is to outline the survey instrument that underpins the reporting of the information contained in all but two of the country studies. The objective of the survey was to scope the preparations, likely impact and policy challenges associated with those forces associated with the 4IR that were outlined in chapter one. The unit of analysis for the survey is the organisation, and the informants for the data collection are senior managers. Through the survey instrument the book asks senior managers to reflect on: what stages of the 4IR their organisations have reached; how prepared their organisations and their workforces are for the 4IR; the likely consequences of the 4IR for their organisations; and their perceptions of the preparation and comprehensiveness of government policy towards the 4IR. Senior managers are likely to be forward looking in terms of identifying potential opportunities and challenges in relation to the sustainability and future of the organisations and the workforces with which they are associated. To this extent, the presumption is that it is senior managers who are in a position and have a vested interest in reflecting on the positioning of their organisation for the 4IR. In turn, their responses provide a basis for examining the preparation and impact of the 4IR across the organisations, industries and countries included in the study. Not all chapters used the survey instrument. Nepal and Taiwan used interviews with managers and/or case studies for the research. In these cases, there were logistical and institutional factors that limited the application of a survey – in Nepal it was the large number of small enterprises that were difficult to access; in the case of Taiwan it was the difficulty in accessing a sufficient sample of managers who would agree to participate in the study.