Abstract
In addition to increasing productivity, digitisation and automation are an important part of the sustainability issue. Therefore, investments aimed at environmental protection and long-term sustainability appear to be on the rise among companies with strong innovation activities in the industrial environment. This article presents the results of a study that outlines young people's assessment of the automation and digitisation opportunities on offer. In addition to traditional values, the goal is to find out how they perceive the importance of Industry 4.0 solutions in shaping the way a company operates. The survey was conducted in two countries, Hungary and Poland. It sought to answer the question of how groups, which by definition are well-defined by certain demographic characteristics, determine their preferences with regard to the above-mentioned areas and how they differentiate them. Relationships between clusters - based on preference-related differences - with respect to product manufacturing, i.e., variables that are considered important to companies, were examined. It can be concluded that the environmental issues and, due to this, sustainability is not equally important (range: 3.512 to 4.308). The traditional features of the products were important for everyone (4,407 to 4,549), and the smart features were differently evaluated (2,607 to 3,386). Overall, looking at the relationship between sustainability-related values will bring us closer to further typology and a better understanding of the clusters, making them more accessible and easier to understand and thus enabling a more effective strategy to be implemented with a focus on sustainability.
