Dealing with resistance to the use of Industry 4.0 technologies in production disturbance management

Purpose: Resistance is expected to emerge with the implementation and use of new technologies in production systems. This work focuses on identifying sources of resistance to the use of Industry 4.0 technologies when managing production disturbances and suitable managerial approaches to deal with them. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was chosen in this research. The authors conducted a literature review and a series of interviews. Thirty-one papers from the literature review were analysed, and 16 people from five different companies were interviewed. Findings: The authors identified five different sources of resistance and three managerial approaches to dealing with them. The sources of resistance were based on (1) feelings of over-supervision, (2) unclear values, (3) feelings of inadequacy, (4) concerns about loss of power and jobs and (5) work overload. The three approaches to dealing with resistance are (1) communication, (2) participation and (3) training. Originality/value: This work identifies the sources and strategies to deal with resistance to the use of Industry 4.0 technologies in the management of production disturbances. The managerial literature in this area is limited, and to the authors\u27s knowledge, the specific sources for resistance and strategies to deal with that in this topic have not been systematically investigated before

Industry 4.0 readiness in manufacturing companies: challenges and enablers towards increased digitalization

Digitalization is changing the business environment and companies face challenges to make progress. A first step to support companies is to verify their digital readiness, capabilities, and developing clear plans for improvement. This paper aims to evaluate the digital readiness of seven companies through the application of a self-check tool, followed by a deeper investigation through a case study, to identify reasons, challenges/barriers and enablers towards digitalization. A workshop was conducted to evaluate the use of a self-check tool and collect other analysis. Results include the readiness level and comparison between companies, actions and practices towards increased digitalization

Undvik floppen : En kvalitiativ stuide om hur ett fastighetsbolag kan öka sin kundförståelse till syfte för tjänsteuveckling

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att studera och analysera ett fastighetsbolags tillvägagångssätt i utvecklandet av nya tjänster och sedan ge konkreta förslag på hur denna process kan förbättras. Dessa förslag har sedan till syfte att kunna hjälpa bolaget i framtagandet av tjänster som ska matcha användarens behov och leda till en minskad risk att lansera tjänster som floppar. Forskningsfrågor:  (1) Hur arbetar fastighetsbolaget idag med tjänsteutveckling?  (2) Hur kan fastighetsbolaget öka förståelsen för sin målgrupps behov och nyttja den ökade förståelsen i utveckling och implementering av nya tjänster? Metod: Studien har utgått ifrån en kvalitativ metod där två semistrukturerade intervjuer, två observationer och en workshop har utformats till studiens empiriska syfte, samt har två andra företag granskas via sekundärkällor. Studien har också stora drag av aktionsforskning då författarna tillsammans med samarbetsparterna har arbetat fram en strategi för fastighetsbolagets framtida innovationsprocesser, där de har haft en nära relation och blivit en del av bolagets verklighet

Value Chains vs. Ecosystems : Current Perspectives Among Swedish SMEs Entering the Interconnected World of IoT

Smart connected industrial products and the Internet of Things (IoT) are transforming the industrial business landscape in a radical way. To reach the full potential of IoT-technologies manufacturing firms are forced to rethink almost every aspect of their value creation process. To utilize this promising digital technology and to cope with the new market conditions of IoT environments, research shows that industrial firms have to make a fundamental shift in value creation logic and break free from the value chain perspective of business. Instead they have to embrace a view where value is co-created within ecosystems in both a vertical and a horizontal manner. By exploring the value creation logic of small and medium sized (SME) Swedish industrial machinery manufacturers, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how manufacturing firms view their value creation processes and how aligned this logic is to the latest research in IoT. The study found that Swedish industrial machine manufacturers do understand the transformative force of IoT-technologies and see great business opportunities to utilize IoT in their business. The study, however, identified a lack of co-creation and difficulties in embracing an ecosystem perspective. While quick to embrace change on a technical level, respondents still adhere to a firm-centric and linear perspective of value creation, with a strong attachment to the value chain concept. The study suggests that it is not a lack of technical proficiency or engineering know-how, but rather an adherence to goods-dominant logic and attachment to the value chain concept that prevent Swedish SME manufacturers from fully embracing the growing market of industrial IoT. Hence, we see an urgent need for both practitioners and academia to shift their attention from the dazzling potential of cutting-edge technologies to the nitty-

Digitalization for sustainable production: exploring the use of digital maturity models

Many companies start a journey towards becoming more digital, seeking to improve productivity, flexibility, resource efficiency, and safety. However, some are looking for guidelines on how to organize themselves to reach these goals. Assuming that digital maturity goes beyond technology, requiring a transformation in business, this paper explores the content of existing digital maturity models, identifying practices and necessary capabilities for increasing digitalization towards more sustainable processes. Qualitative analysis of 21 digital maturity models and an assessment within eight Swedish companies allowed to identify their current-state, andthat digitalization implementation needs to be supported by specific organizational capabilities