20.500.12556/DKUM-97111 Factors affecting Quality 4.0 implementation in Czech, Slovak and Polish organizations preliminary research With the proliferation of the Industry 4.0 paradigm, the inadequacy of conventional quality management tools has become increasingly apparent. The preliminary investigation presented in this paper focuses on the identification of the Quality 4.0 readiness level of organizations operating in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia, as well as affecting factors. The study is based on the review of relevant literature. The web-based questionnaire enabling organizations' representatives through Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI) to take part in the study was used. Data from 298 completed responses were subjected to comprehensive analysis. Descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing were applied to analyse the data. Small and medium-sized organizations achieve low levels of Quality 4.0 readiness. Large organizations are better prepared. The study confirmed the dependence between the Quality 4.0 readiness level and whether the organization operates in automotive, while automotive organizations achieved a higher level of Quality 4.0 readiness than other organizations. The significant relationship between the Quality 4.0 readiness level and whether the organization has a certified management system was also confirmed. Received data also enabled the identification of the main barriers and benefits of Quality 4.0 implementation perceived by the organizations. The research findings identify the challenges that enterprises face regarding the Quality 4.0 implementation and the necessary support that organizations require. These findings can be a foundation for developing novel research initiatives and implementation programs. The research results contribute to the existing body of knowledge and bring new information and insights into the field of quality digitalization. quality management industry 4.0 quality 4.0 quality 4.0 readiness management systems industry sector organization size chi-square test vodenje kakovosti menedžment kakovosti management kakovosti industrija 4.0 kakovost 4.0 sistemi upravljanja true false true Chair of Production Engineering (CPE), University of Maribor Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik https://apem-journal.org/ Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. Članek v reviji 2026-02-18 14:47:19 2026-02-18 14:47:20 2026-02-19 03:12:04 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2023 0 0 str. 345-356 no. 3 Vol. 18 Sep. 2023 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 2023-09-26 2023-10-27 2023-11-19 005.336.3 268896259 10.14743/apem2023.3.477 1854-6250 APEM18-3_345-356.pdf APEM18-3_345-356.pdf 1 49905BDAD4541009CE03EFAFB36D62CC a0e30baf3c2b9afe6ff241cc03007cc49ee35d4ab4447dee234c2f95529c2906 f0f90bb6-0cd0-11f1-8b1a-00155d580e1a https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=203465 https://apem-journal.org/Archives/2023/APEM18-3_345-356.pdf 0 f8a43d87-0cd0-11f1-8b1a-00155d580e1a https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=203466 Fakulteta za strojništvo Advances in production engineering & management 0 0 0