data ecosystems

Replacing Organizational Trust with Technical Guarantees

Replacing Organizational Trust with Technical Guarantees

Privacy-enhancing technologies for dynamic industrial value networks
Hajeong Jeon ORCID Icon, Johannes Lohmöller ORCID Icon, Klaus Wehrle ORCID Icon, Jan Pennekamp ORCID Icon
Long-term relationships are now insufficient to ensure trust in digitalized and dynamic industrial networks where sensitive data sharing is prevalent. While organizational trust mechanisms, such as contracts, remain significant, they are often slow and challenging to scale within evolving digital platforms. This article thus proposes privacy-enhancing technologies as a foundation for embedding technical and verifiable guarantees alongside organizational trust mechanisms. As a result, secure industrial collaboration can be achieved without the persistence of data silos.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 42 | 2026 | Edition 4 | Pages 72-80 | DOI 10.30844/I4SE.26.4.8
Open Source as Enabler for Smart Data Ecosystems

Open Source as Enabler for Smart Data Ecosystems

How collaboration shapes sovereignty and interoperability across industrial applications
Anna Maria Schleimer ORCID Icon, Julia Pampus ORCID Icon
From automotive supply chains to smart factories, data ecosystems promise seamless collaboration across company boundaries. But how can industries build the necessary infrastructure without creating new dependencies? This article explores how open-source software can serve as a foundation and impactful tool for sovereign, interoperable technologies and standards. Yet, open-source software is not a silver bullet; rather, it poses challenges for digital sovereignty in burgeoning data ecosystems.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 42 | 2026 | Edition 4 | Pages 6-13 | DOI 10.30844/I4SD.26.4.1