Human resource practices accompanying industry 4.0 in European manufacturing industry

Abstract

PurposeRecent research has shown that the implementation of Industry 4.0 requires companies to (re)adjust their human resource (HR) policies. This article focuses on the relationship between Industry 4.0 and three HR practices: i.e. employee involvement, job design and skill development.Design/methodology/approachWe use data of the European Company Survey (ECS) (2019). This nationally representative survey in the EU28 gathers data on workplace practices among managers from establishments employing at least 10 employees. We focus on 5,609 establishments in the manufacturing sector.FindingsFirstly, employee involvement shows a strong positive correlation with Industry 4.0, irrespective of the digital technology used, country or firm size. Secondly, weak but significant correlations are found with increasing job complexity and skill development.Research limitations/implicationsResearch should engage in fine-grained analyses of the alignment between particular digital technologies and their respective HR practices.Practical implicationsOur results stress the importance of involving employees during the implementation of Industry 4.0.Originality/valueDespite frequent acknowledgement across Industry 4.0 roadmaps and maturity models, the predictions for HR practices are empirically incomplete and theoretically inconclusive.

Sociotechnical factors and Industry 4.0: an integrative perspective for the adoption of smart manufacturing technologies

“…The findings of this paper corroborate prior studies that propose a broad view on Industry 4.0 implementation (Cagliano et al , 2019; Cimini et al , 2021; Flores et al , 2020; Veile et al , 2019; Vereycken et al , 2021) by quantitatively analyzing the importance of the sociotechnical context to Industry 4.0 in a holistic way. The results corroborate the increasingly important role of workers in Industry 4.0, both in assisting technology implementation and in leveraging these technologies in production activities (Cagliano et al , 2019; Meindl et al , 2021; Veile et al , 2019).…”

“…The results corroborate the increasingly important role of workers in Industry 4.0, both in assisting technology implementation and in leveraging these technologies in production activities (Cagliano et al , 2019; Meindl et al , 2021; Veile et al , 2019). Prior studies have suggested that investing in developing employees' skills and encouraging them to find solutions to problems may help companies to become leaders in Industry 4.0 adoption (Vereycken et al , 2021). The literature has also suggested that flattening hierarchical levels and decentralizing decision-making are necessary measures for Industry 4.0 (Cimini et al , 2021), which will also be favored by an environment with more openness to collaboration, learning and creativity as means to develop an entrepreneurial mindset (Veile et al , 2019).…”

“…Industry 4.0 benefits from a sociotechnical approach that considers both human and technological implications and their interrelationships. For instance, through the involvement of employees in technology implementation, barriers to adoption due to workers' resistance can be reduced, while their contribution to ongoing changes can potentially be increased (Vereycken et al , 2021). Cimini et al (2021) analyzed the relationship between Industry 4.0, job creation and organization, showing that companies experienced a considerable change in terms of structural reorganization and hierarchical level reduction during the adoption of Industry 4.0.…”

“…In the Danish manufacturing context, the sociotechnical approach in Industry 4.0 adoption is increasingly important since significant concerns about job enrichment, workers' needs and satisfaction have been historically related to Scandinavian countries (Oudhuis and Tengblad, 2020). Furthermore, the sociotechnical principles establish that technological investments and organizational changes must be codeveloped and supported by operational actors (Cimini et al , 2021; Vereycken et al , 2021) considering cultural, social and organizational aspects (Davies et al , 2017). Hence, organizations should leverage technologies to adapt to new processes instead of letting technology guide organizational redesign.…”

Industry 4.0: Challenges of Mechanical Engineering for Society and Industry

“…In fact, the speed and scope of technological transformation are exponential, with unlimited potential and unlimited opportunities. On the other hand, there is a delay in preparing human resources to be resilient and adaptive in mastering technology, predicting markets, and the ability to transfer skills [3]- [6]. Now, we are at the edge of a technology revolution that will drastically alter the way we live, work, and communicate [7]- [9].…”