Ten years ago the concept of Industry 4.0 emerged in Germany and spread globally. Ten years later, Industry 4.0 remains a “vision”: the fast diffusion of digital technologies in manufacturing and the development of fully interconnected digital factories have not materialised (yet). Nonetheless it is a “vision” that has already triggered a series of transformations that are changing the way manufacturing processes and work are organised and the way we look at the future of work, employment and manufacturing. This international conference aims to bring together different theoretical and empirical contributions with a double perspective. We want to look back at what we have learned so far and how this has changed our collective understanding of what I.40 is and how it impacts worker and organisations.

The conference intends start an interdisciplinary discussion on how these results may lead to new empirical questions, theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. Contributions may analyse different sectors and companies, different stages of the production chain, different regions and countries. In addition to the general topic of the call on I4.0, the conference aims to outline an international collective project on the topics concerning the transformation of the automotive supply chain in various countries. The theoretical and empirical analysis in a cross-country and cross-company comparison will be intertwined with the involvement of companies, trade unions, policy makers at regional, national and international level, in an attempt to promote a dialogue on automotive issues between the stakeholders and the scientific community of automotive experts, extending the reflection to scholars from other disciplines as well as other sectors.  The conference “Industry 4.0 – ten years later” will be held in the heart of Motor Valley, at the Department of Economics “Marco Biagi”, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. The conference will be structured into sessions: selected papers will be presented and discussed in thematic panel, which will be organised along with plenary sessions, networking spaces and social events.