Towards Factory 4.0? Convergence and divergence of lean models in Italian automotive plants

Angelo Moro and Maria Enrica Virgillito

International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, 2022, vol. 22, issue 2, 245-271

Abstract: This paper studies the interplay in terms of techno-organisational change between the adoption of I4.0 technologies and lean production systems. Leveraging on the results of two field-work analyses conducted under a collaboration with the Sabattini Foundation and the metal workers trade union FIOM in the period 2016-2018, we compare an ensemble of factories producing both high-end/highly customised and low-end products. Emerging patterns of convergence and divergence in the techno-organisational configurations of these factories confirm that this wave of technological innovation is far from leading to total automation or the digital revolution. On the contrary, it appears to be integrated into the historical trend of 'leanification' of production processes in the automotive sector, despite the organisational variety shaped by the actual implementation of this production model.

Keywords: Industry 4.0; lean production; automotive; work organisation; technological innovation; organisational innovation. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=124376 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
Working Paper: Towards the factory 4.0? Convergence and divergence of lean models in Italian automotive plants (2021)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ids:ijatma:v:22:y:2022:i:2:p:245-271

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management from Inderscience Enterprises Ltd
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sarah Parker ().