Sustainability 2025 , 17 , 770
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The higher self-assessment of one’s own company could be explained by the over- confidence bias [3] but also it is crucial to ensure that the significance of each maturity level is accurately understood. Professional assessments are typically comprehensive, systematically evaluating whether specific conditions are met. Given that self-assessment often leads to overestimation—a well-known phenomenon—this tendency could mask the true extent of progress within the industry. This potential overconfidence underscores the need to advance digital transformation efforts more vigorously. The reality may be that the industry is not as far along as we believe, and there is a pressing need to address this gap to achieve genuine progress. Interestingly, the assessment of the general status of digitalisation in the paper industry is much more conservative (see Figure 5). Only four interviewees estimate the Industrie 4.0 Maturity Index at 4 or higher, but not at 6.
Figure 5. Industry-wide Digital Maturity Level: On which stage do you estimate the paper industry?
In response to the additional question, Please explain why you are at this level and not at a higher or lower level the answers provided were as follows: • IT systems are in place, meaning that these are not yet sufficiently utilised; • In some positions, many tools are used, some of which offline; availability and utilisation is very inconsistent; • Some have not yet recognised the need—specialists are needed; in some cases, there is little willingness to change or realise the benefits; • Regarding historically grown systems, data governance is not properly in place, and standardisation is desired; this implies that a guiding hand is sought through standardisation; • Investment in old machines is not taking place; few people have the expertise, meaning that the revenue is estimated too low to take risks and more training isneeded; • No data-based decisions are made without people, isolated lighthouse projects, and no consistency of digitalisation; this indicates trust in people is higher than in data;
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