Artificial Intelligence Adoption, Organizational Resilience, and Industrial Competitiveness: A Comparative Study of Manufacturing Transformation in Germany and South Korea, 2020–2026

Abstract

This article examines artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and industrial transformation through a comparative analysis of manufacturing sectors in Germany and South Korea between 2020 and 2026. The study argues that AI-driven industrial transformation is not merely a technological modernization process but a broader institutional and organizational restructuring mechanism involving industrial governance, workforce adaptation, innovation ecosystems, and strategic business capability development. Germany and South Korea provide analytically significant comparative cases because both are advanced manufacturing economies pursuing Industry 4.0 transformation while operating under different institutional coordination systems, industrial structures, and technological governance models. Germany emphasizes decentralized industrial collaboration, industrial specialization, and SME-centered innovation ecosystems, whereas South Korea emphasizes state-supported technological coordination, large conglomerate leadership, and export-oriented industrial modernization. The findings indicate that AI adoption improves productivity and organizational resilience only when technological investment is aligned with workforce capability, institutional coordination, industrial governance, and ecosystem integration. This article contributes to economics and business scholarship by conceptualizing AI-driven manufacturing transformation as a socio-technical governance process linking organizational adaptation, industrial competitiveness, and long-term developmental resilience.