Background and Objectives: The development of Industry 4.0, as one of the most important approaches to industrial transformation, plays a significant role in improving the value chain, increasing productivity, and enhancing the competitiveness of economic enterprises. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of formulating and prioritizing Industry 4.0 development strategies to strengthen the value chain of economic enterprises at the microeconomic level.
Materials and Methods: In this study, first, using SWOT analysis, ten strengths, ten weaknesses, ten opportunities, and ten threats were identified. Based on these factors, forty Industry 4.0 development strategies were formulated to strengthen the value chain of economic enterprises. Subsequently, nine criteria were determined for evaluating the strategies. The relative importance of the criteria was calculated using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Finally, the strategies were ranked using the Fuzzy CoCoSo method.
Results: The results of the study showed that the criteria of effectiveness, creation of competitive advantage, and attractiveness of return on investment had the greatest importance in evaluating the strategies. Furthermore, the strategies of developing artificial intelligence education, developing domestic Internet of Things (IoT) platforms, and strengthening cybersecurity were identified as the most important and highest-priority Industry 4.0 development strategies in Iran.
Conclusion: A comparison of the Fuzzy CoCoSo method with other multi-criteria decision-making methods demonstrated the high consistency and validity of the results obtained through this method. Overall, the findings of this study can provide a practical basis for policymakers and industrial managers in formulating Industry 4.0 development programs and optimally allocating resources to strengthen the value chain of domestic companies.