Labor division and advantages and limits of participation in creation of intangible assets in industry 4.0: humans versus machines
| Pages | 623-638 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-11-2019-0277 |
| Date | 15 April 2020 |
| Published date | 15 April 2020 |
| Author | Svetlana V. Lobova,Alexander N. Alekseev,Tatiana N. Litvinova,Natalia A. Sadovnikova |
| Subject Matter | Behavioural accounting,Organizational structure/dynamics,Information & knowledge management |
Labor division and advantages and
limits of participation in creation of
intangible assets in industry 4.0:
humans versus machines
Svetlana V. Lobova
Altai State University, Barnaul, Russian Federation
Alexander N. Alekseev
Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow,
Russian Federation
Tatiana N. Litvinova
Volgograd State Agricultural University, Volgograd, Russian Federation, and
Natalia A. Sadovnikova
Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation
Abstract
Purpose–The purpose of the work is to solve the set problem and to study the competition and perspectives of
division of labor of humans and machines during creation of intangible assets in Industry 4.0.
Design/methodology/approach –The research is performed with the help of regression and comparative
analysis by building regression curves and with the help of the qualitative structural and logical analysis.
Findings –The authors perform an overview of the factors that determine the advantages and limits of
participation in creation of intangible assets in Industry 4.0, determine the perspectives and compile
recommendations for division of human and machine labor during creation of intangible assets in Industry 4.0.
Originality/value –The results of the performed research confirmed the general hypothesis that machine
technologies allow improving the innovative, marketing and organizational and managerial activities and
activities in the sphere of R&D through automatizationof certain stages of the process of creation of intangible
assets. The authors determine the factors that define the contribution of machine technologiesin this process
and their competitive advantages as compared to human intellectual capital during creation of intangible
assets. These advantages prove the possibility and expedience of division of human and machine labor during
creation of intangible assets.
Keywords Labor division, Creation of intangible assets, Industry 4.0, Humans, Machines, Human intellectual
capital, Competition, AI, Intellectual capital
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
In Industry 4.0, the structure of the labor market and intellectual capital of business becomes
more complicated. New –machine –elements appear in it: robots and machines in the labor
market and Artificial intelligence (AI) and technology of high-speed and rational decision-
making based on precise analysis of Big Data in the system of intellectual capital.
Attractiveness of robots and AI is very high –due to their novelty and due to their multiple
advantages, which ensure their expanded capabilities as compared to humans, and due to
overcomingof human monopoly in the labor market and in the structureof intellectual capital
and creationof competition, whichstimulates the increaseof effectiveness of all its participants.
However, the first experience of practical application of machines of the fourth
technological mode was contradictory and showed certain limitations, which determine the
Labor division
of humans
versus
623
JEL Classification —D41, E22, E24, F12, L13, O15, O34, O31, O32, O33
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1469-1930.htm
Received 28 November 2019
Revised 30 December 2019
Accepted 30 December 2019
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol. 21 No. 4, 2020
pp. 623-638
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/JIC-11-2019-0277
differences in scenarios, according to which competition between humans and machines is
developing in various spheres of economy and economic processes. Thus, in industrial
production (including construction), scenario of full automatization is implemented,
according to which a machine mono-structure (monopoly) of labor and intellectual
resources is formed at a “smart”company. Agricultural production is peculiar for scenario
of limited automatization, at which collection of data through digital monitoring is performed
by machines, and decisions are made by humans.
In the distributive processes (sales and supply) and in the sphere of services, we observe
scenario of moderate automatization, which envisages that collection of certain (clearly
formalized and digital) data is performed by machines, but most of the data are collected by
humans, who also make decisions. The smallest experience of application of machines is
peculiar for investment processes and the sphere of R&D. This is explained by
underdevelopment of the methodological provision of usage of machines during creation
of intangible assets and the modern science acknowledging the natural monopoly of humans
in this process, at which unique (unavailable for machines) abilities of humans are present –
ability for creation, promotion of ideas, determination of new algorithms of verification of
hypothesis and critical analysis of the existing data and making of original decisions.
Thus, it is supposed that investment processes and the sphere of R&D are peculiar for the
scenario of minimum automatization, which is connected to foundation on human intellectual
capital during usage of the automatization means not for replacement but for increase of
human’s efficiency. However, prominent results of AI in other spheres and high rate of its
improvement and development show perspectives of expanding its potential as compared to
the initial expectations. This causes a scientific and practical problem –what are the
advantages and limits of participation of machines in the innovative activities and in the
sphere of R&D?
The general (basic) hypothesis of this research is that despite the existing idea machines,
in particular robots and AI could have a significant contribution into the innovative activities
of economic subjects, and though humans cannot be fully ousted (total automatization will
not be achieved in the near future), it will be possible to ensure full-scale division of human
and machine labor during creation of intangible assets for raising the effectiveness of this
process. The paper aims at solving this problem and studying the competition and
perspectives of division of labor of humans and machines during creation of intangible assets
in Industry 4.0. The following tasks are solved:
(1) Overview of the factors that determine the advantages and limits of participation in
creation of intangible assets in Industry 4.0;
(2) Determining the perspectives and compiling recommendations for division of human
and machine labor during creation of intangible assets in Industry 4.0.
2. Literature review
Content analysis of the literature sources on the given topic showed that there are a lot of
works devoted to substantiating the key role of human intellectual capital during creation of
intangible assets, which include Allameh (2018),Berraies (2019),D’Ippolito et al. (2019),
Duodu and Rowlinson (2019) and Vahanyan et al. (2019).S
anchez (2008) notes the important
role of intangible assets and intellectual resources or capital in creation and dissemination of
knowledge in organizations. Hussi (2004) points out the change of configuration of knowledge
management by unification of intellectual capital, intangible assets and knowledge creation.
Lee (2015) deems it necessary to eliminate the institutional divergence and corporate
intellectual capital for increasing the effectiveness of joint research projects (shown by the
example of Korean industry). Kim and Kumar (2009) determine the structure for considering
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