Business Intelligence Management Studies

Designing a Conceptual Model for Railway Industry Maturity Assessment in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: A Meta-Synthesis Study

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Samaneh Moradi 1
Mehrdad Hosseini Shakib 2
Ali Badizadeh 3

1 Ph.D. Student Department of Industrial Management, Qa.C., Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Industrial Management, Ka.C., Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.Corresponding Author: Mehrdad.shakib@kiau.ac.ir

3 Assistant Professor,Department of Industrial Management, Qa.C., Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22054/ims.2025.86393.2633
Abstract
In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, digitalization and implementation of emerging technologies are considered as the main drivers of transformation in various industries. The railway transportation industry is no exception to this rule and requires precise criteria to assess its maturity level and readiness in adopting and implementing Industry 4.0 related technologies. The main objective of this research is to identify and present a conceptual model for railway transportation industry maturity assessment based on fourth-generation industrial technologies. This study was conducted using Sandelowski and Barroso's seven-stage meta-synthesis method and systematic review of 87 scientific articles published between 2016 and 2025. The article screening process was based on precise evaluation criteria including language, temporal scope, study conditions, research population, and article types. The research results led to the development of a conceptual model comprising 5 main dimensions, 21 indicators, and 84 operational codes, which include: Industry 4.0 technologies in railway transportation, digitalization challenges and barriers, cybersecurity and digital risks, practical applications and performance improvement, and sustainability and environment. The scientific validity of the results was confirmed with a Kappa coefficient of 0.89 and content validity of 0.83. This model provides a comprehensive framework for evaluating and measuring the maturity level of organizations active in railway transportation and can be used as an effective tool for identifying strengths and weaknesses, and developing improvement strategies in the digitalization path.

Keywords

Maturity assessment conceptual model
railway industry
fourth industrial revolution
meta-synthesis
emerging technologies
Subjects
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‌ ‌استناد به این مقاله: مرادی، سمانه.، حسینی شکیب، مهرداد.، بدیع زاده، علی. (1405). طراحی الگوی مفهومی ارزیابی بلوغ صنعت ریلی در عصر انقلاب صنعتی چهارم: یک مطالعه فراترکیب، مطالعات مدیریت کسب وکار هوشمند، 15(55)، 255-298. DOI: 10.22054/ims.2025.86393.2633

 Journal of Business Intelligence Management Studies is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License..

Business Intelligence Management Studies
Volume 15, Issue 55
Spring 2026
Pages 261-305

  • Receive Date 09 July 2025
  • Revise Date 25 October 2025
  • Accept Date 12 November 2025

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