Industry perspective of stakeholder relationships in the technology transition and automation of heavy-duty mobile machinery

Abstract

Application areas of heavy-duty mobile machines (HDMMs) such as construction, mining, and material handling have maintained traditionally stable mechanical engineering oriented and fluid power technology dependent relationships between suppliers, manufacturers, and end-users of HDMMs. However, shortage of skilled labour, safety issues, economic uncertainties, and environmental concerns related to HDMM operations have increased the research and development efforts on automated and autonomous HDMMs, thereby leading to a technological transition in the HDMM industry. Accordingly, current research and development addresses highly technical challenges and multidisciplinary topics. However, research on non-technical topics in the HDMM industry such as future business models and collaborative ecosystems are still in their nascent stages, thereby posing challenges for the practical deployment of automated HDMMs, barring limited use cases. In this study, we utilise mixed-methods to explore the changing stakeholder relationships associated with the technology transition in the HDMM industry. We create a comprehensive stakeholder mapping of the HDMM industry and bring hidden/new stakeholders to the fore. Furthermore, we analyse the stakeholder relationships as a network of relationships among different actors in the HDMM industry, thereby highlighting collaboration potentials and directions for future research on the technology <br/>transition in the HDMM industry.