The effect of industry 4.0 and lean management on operational performance improvement: evidence from Italy

This paper explores the effect of Lean Production and Industry 4.0 technologies on the operational performance improvement. While there is a widespread consensus on the positive effect that both paradigms can produce on the operational performance improvement, it is still questionable whether their joint interaction can enhance the effectiveness of Industry 4.0 due to the human-centricity of lean organizations, which seems to be in contrast with the strong focus on the technology-centricity peculiar to Industry 4.0. Based on the analysis of survey data coming from 189 factories located in Italy, the paper reveals a positive association between Lean Production practices and the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies. However, it also shows that their interaction weakens the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on productivity and product quality in factories with a longer and more intense Lean Production adoption. Interviews conducted among seven plants help in identifying the main reasons for such phenomenon.