Taking Responsibility for Industrial Digitalization: Navigating Organizational Challenges

Linnéa Carlsson,Kristina Eriksson,Anna Karin Olsson

doi:10.3390/su14020866

Abstract

In this article, an employee perspective has been applied in aiming to explore how organizations face challenges and take responsibility for industrial digitalization, thus extending the research on the human-centric perspective in relation to Industry 4.0 technologies. To give emphasis to the human-centric perspective, the co-workership wheel was applied to identify and analyze data. The findings of an explorative longitudinal qualitative case study consisting of 35 in-depth interviews with informants from a manufacturing company were used. Additional data collection consisted of documents and project meetings. By applying a human-centric perspective, llessons learned from this case study show that taking responsibility for industrial digitalization is challenging and the importance of an adaptive organizational culture and a focus on learning and competence are crucial. We argue that the findings give useful implications for manufacturing organizations navigating the challenges of industrial digitalization to sense and seize the benefits of Industry 4.0 technologies.

Highlights

Industrial digitalization is not driven mainly by technological development, but by digital strategies, often rooted in organizational culture [1], and no part of the organization is immune to its effects [2]
We argue that the findings give useful implications for manufacturing organizations navigating the challenges of industrial digitalization to sense and seize the benefits of Industry 4.0 technologies
The study provides an in-depth case study analysis of employees’ perspectives using the co-workership wheel to identify challenges related to industrial digitalization. Lessons learned from this longitudinal explorative case study indicate the importance of an adaptive culture and a focus on learning and competence while navigating industrial digitalization

Summary

Introduction

Industrial digitalization is not driven mainly by technological development, but by digital strategies, often rooted in organizational culture [1], and no part of the organization is immune to its effects [2]. Manufacturing organizations’ existing organizational structures and cultures need to be tailored to the desired outcomes of organizational capabilities and external sustainability demands [4,5,6]. Since industrial digitalization is challenging organizational structures and employees’ actions [7]. Organizational structure refers to the allocation of tasks and responsibilities to employees and various degrees of centralization, hierarchy, and specialization within an organization [8]. Employees need to understand how to integrate and manage I4.0 technologies related to work and tasks, needing organizational approaches for learning and competence [3,10]. It becomes essential to understand how organizations face challenges and are taking responsibility for industrial digitalization since it is an ongoing strategic issue for manufacturing organizations

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