The interrelation between Industry 4.0 and lean production: an empirical study on European manufacturers

Abstract

This study aims at examining the impact of the interrelation between the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies and the implementation of lean production (LP) practices on the improvement level of European manufacturers’ operational performance. To achieve that, we conducted a survey with 108 European manufacturers that have been implementing LP and initiated their Industry 4.0 adoption. The collected data was analyzed through multivariate techniques, allowing to identify the effect of this relationship according to different contextual factors deemed as influential by previous literature, such as company size, LP implementation experience, type of ownership, and business operating model. Results underpin the idea of a wide applicability of both approaches, indicating that higher adoption levels of Industry 4.0 may be easier to achieve when LP practices are extensively implemented in the company. In opposition, when processes are not robustly designed and continuous improvement practices are not established, companies’ readiness for adopting novel technologies may be lower. By comprehending that Industry 4.0 technologies are highly related to LP practices, disregarding the context, managers from EU manufacturers can address the implementation of both approaches in a more assertive way.