Digital transformation success under Industry 4.0: a strategic guideline for manufacturing SMEs

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morteza Ghobakhloo ◽  
Mohammad Iranmanesh
Keyword(s):  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
External Support ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Interpretive Structural Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Exciting Opportunity ◽  
Base Matrix

PurposeThe digital transformation under Industry 4.0 is complex and resource-intensive, making a strategic digitalization guideline vital to small and medium-sized enterprises' success in the Industry 4.0 transition. The present study aims to provide manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a guideline for digital transformation success under Industry 4.0.Design/methodology/approachThe study first performed a content-centric literature review to identify digital transformation success determinants. The study further implemented interpretive structural modeling to extract the order at which the success determinants should be present to facilitate the SMEs’ digital transformation success optimally. The interpretive model and interpretive logic knowledge base matrix were also used for developing the digital transformation guideline.FindingsEleven success determinants are vital to SMEs’ digital transformation efforts. For example, results revealed that external support for digitalization is the first step in ensuring digital transformation success among SMEs, while operations technology readiness is the most inaccessible success determinant.Research limitations/implicationsThe study highlights the degree of importance of the 11 success determinants identified, which magnifies each determinant's strategic priority based on its driving power and dependence power. Theorizing the dependent variable of “digital transformation success” and quantitatively measuring the extent to which each success determinant contributes to explaining “digital transformation success” offers an exciting opportunity for future research.Practical implicationsDigital transformation success phenomenon within the Industry 4.0 context is significantly different from the digitalization success concept within the traditional literature. The digital transformation under Industry 4.0 is immensely resource-intensive and complex. Smaller manufacturers must have specific capabilities such as change management and digitalization strategic planning capability to reach a certain degree of information, digital, operations and cyber maturity.Originality/valueThe digital transformation success guide developed in the study describes each success determinants' functionality in relation to other determinants and explains how they might contribute to the digital transformation success within the manufacturing sector. This guide enables smaller manufacturers to better understand the concept of manufacturing digital transformation under Industry 4.0 and devise robust strategies to steer their digital transformation process effectively.

scholarly journals Digital transformation in sales as an evolving process

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Wengler ◽  
Gabriele Hildmann ◽  
Ulrich Vossebein
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Transformation Model ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Management Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Productivity Gains

Purpose The majority of business-to-business companies are working on their digital transformation in sales. Despite enormous transformation efforts, the expected productivity gains are often missing in most companies. Based on empirical research, this paper aims to develop a new market-oriented transformation model. Management implications as well as future research directions are derived for a more focused digital transformation process in sales. Design/methodology/approach Within the exploratory research study, 90 key informants were interviewed to provide better insights in the context of digital transformation in sales. The accuracy of the research results was safeguarded by triangulation. Findings As this research paper will show, the reasons for the missing productivity gains caused by a limited knowledge about the main success factors of digital transformation as well as a lack of understanding of digital transformation as an evolving process. Originality/value Based on the empirical research, a new market-oriented transformation model is developed and management implications as well as future research directions are derived for a more focused digital transformation process in sales.

Sustainable manufacturing and industry 4.0: what we know and what we don't

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rohit Sharma ◽  
Charbel José Chiappetta Jabbour ◽  
Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Sustainable Manufacturing ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sustainable Operations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Entities

PurposeThe emergence the fourth industrial revolution, known as well as industry 4.0, and its applications in the manufacturing sector ushered a new era for the business entities. It not only promises enhancement in operational efficiency but also magnify sustainable operations practices. This current paper provides a thorough bibliometric and network analysis of more than 600 articles highlighting the benefits in favor of the sustainability dimension in the industry 4.0 paradigm.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis begins by identifying over 1,000 published articles in Scopus, which were then refined to works of proven influence and those authored by influential researchers. Using rigorous bibliometric software, established and emergent research clusters were identified for intellectual network analysis, identification of key research topics, interrelations and collaboration patterns.FindingsThis bibliometric analysis of the field helps graphically to illustrate the publications evolution over time and identify areas of current research interests and potential directions for future research. The findings provide a robust roadmap for mapping the research territory in the field of industry 4.0 and sustainability.Originality/valueAs the literature on sustainability and industry 4.0 expands, reviews capable of systematizing the main trends and topics of this research field are relevant.

scholarly journals Industry 4.0: defining the research agenda

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amaya Erro-Garcés
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Smart Industry ◽  
Definition Of

Purpose Industry 4.0 implies that global challenges exist within the manufacturing sector. Both theoretical and empirical research has been developed to support these transformations and assist companies in the process of changing. The purpose of this paper is to gather previous articles through an updated review and defines a research agenda for future investigation based on the most recent studies published in the field. Design/methodology/approach Key articles on the subject are analysed. The articles were published in 39 journals from which 107 papers dating from 2005 to 2018 have been selected. Findings The main findings imply the definition of a research agenda where: a common terminology should be created; the levels of implementation of Industry 4.0 should be defined; the stages of the development of Industry 4.0 should be identified; a lean approach for this industry is defined and the implications of Industry 4.0 in either a sustainable or circular economy should be understood; the consequences of human resources should be analysed; and the effects of the smart factory in the organisation are the areas identified and studied in the mentioned research agenda. Research limitations/implications This review has some limitations. First, a number of grey literature, such as reports from non-governmental organisations and front-line practitioners’ reflections, were not included. Second, only research studies in English and Spanish were reviewed. Practical implications This review helps practitioners in their implementation of Industry 4.0. Moreover, the identified future research areas may help to define priorities in this implementation. Originality/value After examining previous research, this paper proposes a research agenda covering issues about Industry 4.0. This research agenda should guide future investigations in the smart industry.

The impacts of Industry 4.0: a descriptive survey in the Italian manufacturing sector

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 1085-1115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting Zheng ◽  
Marco Ardolino ◽  
Andrea Bacchetti ◽  
Marco Perona ◽  
Massimo Zanardini
Keyword(s):  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Manufacturing Enterprises ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
Adoption Level ◽  
Descriptive Survey

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how much the Italian manufacturing companies are ready to be concretely involved in the so-called “Industry 4.0” (I4.0) journey. In particular, this paper focuses on analyzing the knowledge and adoption levels of specific I4.0 enabling technologies, also considering how organizations are involved and which are the main benefits and obstacles. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive survey has been carried out on a total of 103 respondents related to manufacturing companies of different sizes. Data collected were analyzed in order to answer five specific research questions. Findings The findings from the survey demonstrate that Italian manufacturing companies are in different positions in their journey toward the I4.0 paradigm, mainly depending on their size and informatization level. Furthermore, not all the business functions are adequately involved in this transformation and their awareness about this new paradigm seems quite low because of the absence of specific managerial roles to guide this revolution. Finally, there are strong differences concerning both benefits and obstacles related to the adoption of I4.0 paradigm, depending on the technology adoption level. Research limitations/implications Future research should focus on developing case studies about pilot I4.0 practitioners in order to understand the root cause of successful cases. Both managerial and practical references should be developed, helping Italian manufacturing enterprises to consolidate and strengthen their position in global competitive market. Finally, it would be interesting to carry out the same study in other countries in order to make comparisons and suitable benchmark analyses. Originality/value Despite scholars have debated about the adoption of technologies and the benefits related to the I4.0 paradigm, to the best of authors’ knowledge, only a few empirical surveys have been carried out until now on the adoption level of I4.0 principles in the manufacturing sector of a specific country.

Digital transformation of organizations: what do we know and where to go next?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Jedynak ◽  
Wojciech Czakon ◽  
Aneta Kuźniarska ◽  
Karolina Mania
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Blind Spot ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Domain

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the development of the digital transformation literature and to the systematic literature review methodology.Design/methodology/approachThe authors run a systematic literature review, followed by a rigorous thematic analysis of both academic and grey literature dataset, in order to develop a conceptual map of organizations' digital transformation. The authors aggregate the concepts and topics identified across the literature to find that they overwhelmingly tackle digital business models. At the same time, the authors identify a major blind spot resulting from ignoring the organization itself as a unit of analysis.FindingsThe findings show that developing a digital theory of the organization or the theory of digitally transformed organization is a major challenge to management researchers. The analysis exposed numerous research gaps that can be helpful for future research directions.Originality/valueDigital transformation research enjoys an increasingly rapid rise to recognition across many academic disciplines and strongly impacts the management domain. adopt the view that published documents reflect the collective understanding of a phenomenon. This paper contributes to filtering the digital transformation literature, clarify complex relation between digital transformations of organizations and identify the key blind points.

Emerging trends in digital transformation: a bibliometric analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raghu Nandan Chawla ◽  
Praveen Goyal
Keyword(s):  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Citation Network ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Intellectual Structure ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Areas

PurposeUbiquitous digital technologies are driving organisations to embrace non-traditional digitally transformed business models incessantly. Heterogeneous literature contributions have resulted in a spur in the research related to business transformation driven by digital technologies in recent years; consequently, the research under the digital transformation (DT), even though becoming a hotspot, remains very fragmented. The authors endeavour to holistically present the literature's intellectual structure under DT as a concept, its evolving journey and the emerging research streams in the business and management domains using the techniques of bibliometric analysis.Design/methodology/approachBy performing bibliometric analysis on 234 research articles published over the last 20 years in the DT domain, retrieved from Thompson Reuters Web of Science TM, this study culls out thorough insights from the citation, co-citation and keyword analysis. Further emerging research streams were evaluated using VOSviewer software.FindingsThe study depicts an overall incremental trend of year-on-year publications, authors' performance, publication journals, associated institutions and research driving countries, along with key insights from co-citation network analysis. Furthermore, the study evaluates four research areas – organisational impacts, applied applications and insights, operational processes and social aspects, comprising eighteen research streams that comprehensively cover-up research under the DT domain.Research limitations/implicationsThe study contributes to the literature of DT by amalgamating the status of the present research, but more importantly, by deriving the research areas and research streams, which can be further expanded by researchers as future research streams.Practical implicationsFor the practitioners, the study aims to act as a ready reckoner repository with practice-oriented literature references to facilitate them building knowledge and taking effective strategic decisions to harness the benefits of DT more proficiently.Originality/valueThis study illustrates the bibliometric structure of the DT literature and presents insights from the growth of the literature year-on-year.

scholarly journals Optimization potential of the Digital Transformation program in EU top transportation company

2021 ◽  
Vol 129 ◽  
pp. 06009
Author(s):  
Aleksandrs Popovs ◽  
Zane Drinke
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Statistical Population ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Change Environment ◽  
Observation Methods ◽  
And Coping

Research background: We are living in complex and uncertain times and nowadays no one is doubting the DT expediency in order to support business transformation process or to boost agility for the new reality adoption and coping with the Crisis Purpose of the article: The aim of this study was to explore and assess Digital Transformation journey by one of Europe's largest transport companies – Girteka Logistics, in change environment and under uncertainty. The study collects data from the company’s Digital Transformation program, enabled by SAP solutions, insides from the Digital Transformation program internal and external teams. Methods: Within the study empirical research with descriptive research method was carried out using qualitative and quantitative observation methods. As the study is only about one company, the statistical population represents most of the Digital Transformation program team members. The data collection happened by the online questionary and afterward through the interviews with the key respondents to validate and extend gathered data. Second part of the data gathered is from Girteka’s Digital Transformation program documentation. The data collection happened by the documentation analysis and information consolidation. Findings & Value added: As the result of the study the antifragile generic hand-on Digital Transformation program roadmap was created and number of aspects were highlighted to be considered for the potential future research, like internal transformation team competency level requirements, expert labor marker and transformation partners situation as enabler for the companies’ digital transformation, process for the digital transformation program and overall business KPI definition to be used as transformation execution success indicator.

Industry 4.0 – organizing routines or innovations?

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximiliane Wilkesmann ◽  
Uwe Wilkesmann
Keyword(s):  
Work Environment ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
The Future ◽  
Control Authority ◽  
The Right

Purpose The rise of new information and communication technologies forms the cornerstone for the future development of work. The term Industry 4.0 refers to the vision of a fourth industrial revolution that is based on a network of autonomous, self-controlling, self-configuring, knowledge-based, sensor-based and spatially distributed production resources. All in all, different forms of the application of the Industry 4.0 concept can be observed, ranging from autonomous logistic transport systems drawn upon the idea of swarm intelligence to smart knowledge management systems. This paper aims to develop a theoretical framework to analyze different applications of Industry 4.0 on an organizing continuum. The general research questions are: What forms of organizing digitalized work lead to the reproduction of routines, and what forms foster innovation within Industry 4.0? The authors thus analyze the consequences of different forms of organizing work on workers’ perceptions and the results of the working process. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides case studies for different stages of the organizing continuum in the context of Industry 4.0. The cases and a further analysis of all 295 funded projects are based on the Platform Industry 4.0 Map, which is part of the Industry 4.0 initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The consequences for people acting in such organizational and digitally supported structures are discussed. Findings A variety of applications of Industry 4.0 can be found. These applications mainly vary in the dimensions of the degree of formalization, the location of control authority, the location of knowledge and the degree of professionalization. At the right side of the organizing continuum, the digitalization organizes a work environment that supports highly qualified humans. They have broad leeway and a high degree of autonomy to design and create innovative forms of digitalization for tomorrow. At the left side of the organizing continuum, Industry 4.0 structures a work environment with narrow leeway, a low degree of autonomy and a top-down structure of control authority predetermined by digital applications. In this case, employees fill the gaps the machines cannot handle. Research limitations/implications As the paper focuses on Industry 4.0 developments in Germany, the comparability with regard to other countries is limited. Moreover, the methodological approach is explorative, and broader quantitative verification is required. Specifically, future research could include quantitative methods to investigate the employees’ perspective on Industry 4.0. A comparison of Industry 4.0 applications in different countries would be another interesting option for further research. Practical implications This paper shows that applications of Industry 4.0 are currently at a very early stage of development and momentarily organize more routines than innovations. From a practical point of view, professional vocational and academic training will be a key factor for the successful implementation of digitalization in future. A joint venture of industry and educational institutions could be a suitable way to meet the growing demand for qualified employees from the middle to the right-hand of the organizing continuum in the context of Industry 4.0. Social implications Industry 4.0 is designed by men, and therefore, humans are responsible for whether the future work situation will be perceived as supportive or as an alienated routine. Therefore, designers of Industry 4.0, as well as politicians and scientists, absolutely must take the underlying outcomes of digitalized work into account and must jointly find socially acceptable solutions. Originality/value This paper provides a promising avenue for future research on Industry 4.0 by analyzing the underlying organizational structures of digital systems and their consequences for employees. Moreover, the paper shows how Industry 4.0 should be organized to simply reproduce routines or to support innovation.

Total quality management 4.0: adapting quality management to Industry 4.0

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabiane Florencio de Souza ◽  
Alana Corsi ◽  
Regina Negri Pagani ◽  
Giles Balbinotti ◽  
João Luiz Kovaleski
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Ecosystem Model ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
Data Collections

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to explore the new concept of TQM 4.0 as a way of adapting quality management (QM) in Industry 4.0 (I4.0), guiding industries to this new phase, which has generated adaptations in numerous areas, one of which is QM and human resources.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of the literature was carried out. Methodi Ordinatio was applied to build the portfolio of articles with scientific relevance, which is the source of data collections and content analysis. To help out in the analysis, NVivo 12 and VOSviewer software programs were used.FindingsThe results demonstrate that when adapting the QM to the technologies of I4.0, the result is an ecosystem that supports the integration between technology, quality and people in the industrial scenario.Research limitations/implicationsThis article presents a systematic review of the literature, but without delving into specific issues such as the different industrial sectors and the culture of countries in which industries may be inserted, for example, which characterizes a limitation of this research.Practical implicationsThis study provides an ecosystem model that can guide future research, regarding the concept of TQM 4.0, in addition to pointing out some ways of combining technologies, quality and people in the industrial context.Originality/valueThis is one of the first articles to employ a systematic review of the literature using Methodi Ordinatio to build a bibliographic panorama on the intertwining of the themes total QM (TQM) and I4.0, focusing on the emerging concept of TQM 4.0.

Corporate survival in Industry 4.0 era: the enabling role of lean-digitized manufacturing

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morteza Ghobakhloo ◽  
Masood Fathi
Keyword(s):  
Enterprise Resource Planning ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Manufacturing System ◽  
Resource Planning ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Manufacturing Firm ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how small manufacturing firms can leverage their Information Technology (IT) resources to develop the lean-digitized manufacturing system that offers sustained competitiveness in the Industry 4.0 era. Design/methodology/approach The study performs an in-depth five years case study of a manufacturing firm, and reports its journey from failure in the implementation of enterprise resource planning to its success in integrating IT-based technology trends of Industry 4.0 with the firm’s core capabilities and competencies while pursuing manufacturing digitization. Findings Industry 4.0 transition requires the organizational integration of many IT-based modern technologies and the digitization of entire value chains. However, Industry 4.0 transition for smaller manufacturers can begin with digitization of certain areas of operations in support of organizational core strategies. The development of lean-digitized manufacturing system is a viable business strategy for corporate survivability in the Industry 4.0 setting. Research limitations/implications Although the implementation of lean-digitized manufacturing system is costly and challenging, this manufacturing strategy offers superior corporate competitiveness in the long run. Since this finding is rather limited to the present case study, assessing the business value of lean-digitized manufacturing system in a larger scale research context would be an interesting avenue for future research. Practical implications Industry 4.0 transition for typical manufacturers should commensurate with their organizational, operational and technical particularities. Digitization of certain operations and processes, when aligned with the firm’s core strategies, capabilities and procedures, can offer superior competitiveness even in Industry 4.0 era, meaning that the strategic plan for successful Industry 4.0 transition is idiosyncratic to each particular manufacturer. Social implications Manufacturing digitization can have deep social implications as it alters inter- and intra-organizational relationships, causes unemployment among low-skilled workforce, and raises data security and privacy concerns. Manufacturers should take responsibility for their digitization process and steer it in a direction that simultaneously safeguards economic, social and environmental sustainability. Originality/value The strategic roadmap devised and employed by the case company for managing its digitization process can better reveal what manufacturing digitization, mandated by Industry 4.0, might require of typical manufacturers, and further enable them to better facilitate their digital transformation process.

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