R&D Activities and Company Development in the Age of Industry 4.0

The article aims to discuss the evaluation of R&D activity in the company’s development in the age of Industry 4.0 on the example of automotive companies in Poland. The research was divided into two stages. As a first part, desk research was conducted, obtaining information about R&D activities on 54 automotive companies in Poland by checking their websites, annual reports, activity reports and annual financial statements. In the second part, a case study analysis was carried out, characterised by triangulation of sources and methods, making it possible to combine research methods such as content analysis, desk research and the structured interview. Four main behaviours were identified, to sum up, the conducted research, which was assigned appropriate roles based on R&D activity, such as innovator, team player, modest player, and limited player. The main contribution of the paper in management science covers both theoretical and practical aspects. From a theoretical perspective, the paper explains the importance of the relationship between R&D activities and the company’s development and classifies the companies’ behaviour in the field of R&D activities. From a practical perspective, the article discusses the case of a company that was actively engaged in R&D activities providing insight into its R&D activities.