Do technologies really affect that much? exploring the potential of several industry 4.0 technologies in today’s lean manufacturing shop floors

Antonio Sartal (), Josep Llach () and Fernando León-Mateos ()
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Antonio Sartal: University of Vigo, ECOBAS (Economics and Business Administration for Society)
Josep Llach: University of Girona
Fernando León-Mateos: University of Vigo, ECOBAS (Economics and Business Administration for Society)

Operational Research, 2022, vol. 22, issue 5, No 46, 6075-6106

Abstract: Abstract We investigated the synergies and trade-offs between lean management practices and digital transformation promoted via Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies in current manufacturing shop floors. We used a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to examine possible interactions in a sample of 568 European manufacturing plants from the European Manufacturing Survey. Our results show that various causal pathways exist between lean practices and I4.0 technologies that contribute to improving industrial performance, highlighting the influence of vertical and horizontal data integration (VHDI) even ahead of other more extended applications, such as robotics. Furthermore, our results reveal that the combination of I4.0 technologies analyzed (VHDI, advanced robotics, and additive manufacturing) can lead to sufficient conditions for improving plant performance. From a management point of view, our findings underline the need to avoid myopic attitudes toward I4.0 opportunities. Lean programs should be designed with technological issues in mind, as digital features can establish powerful mechanisms that develop and reinforce the contributions of operational routines to manufacturing strengths in the face of new market requirements. In addition, managers must take into account the implications of the new situation: continuous learning and workforce training will be essential for workers to adapt to the requirements that digital transformation of shop floors has brought about.

Keywords: Digital transformation; Lean manufacturing; Industry 4.0; Fuzzy qualitative analysis; Plant performance; European manufacturing survey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1007/s12351-022-00732-y

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