Digital transformation and industry 4.0. Empirical analysis on the evolution of companies in the large-scale retail trade

The rapid acceleration of technological development in recent years has profoundly revolutionized the way companies are managed, pushing them to propose new business models, products and marketing strategies. At the same time, the role of the consumer has undergone a radical evolution, becoming a central figure for the company, which needs effective two-way communication that improves interaction with customers and meets their growing expectations. The current scenario is therefore shaped by digital transformation, a term used to indicate a set of technological, cultural, organizational and social changes that involve all companies and market sectors. In order to better understand the impact that this process, through the complex paradigm of Industry 4.0, has on Italian firms, a survey was conducted that involves companies operating in the large-scale retail trade (GDO) sector. This industrial sector was chosen as it is a context increasingly characterized by automation and digitalization of sales processes. Based on the results obtained through an online survey on a sample of 130 companies, this paper proposes some significant considerations on the diffusion of digital technologies, on the benefits they bring as well as on the managerial and organizational impacts generated in the business context under consideration.