Industry 4.0 technologies and lean: a configurational approach

Literature considers the interaction of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies with Lean Production (LP) as a critical element for determining a company’s competitive advantage and improving its operational performance which ultimately may translate into better financial performance. However, previous studies provide virtually no quantitative evidence on financial performance. In this paper, we first challenge the assumption that all types of I4.0 technologies have good interaction with LP practices leading to better financial performance, and second, we measure financial performance quantitatively through the ratio ROA (return on assets). Studying a sample of 30 Italian manufacturing firms, this study identifies the fit and misfit between different bundles of I4.0 technologies and LP that produce an impact (positive or negative) on financial performance, providing feasible explanations about the inconsistent and contradictory results related to the effects of Lean-I4.0 integration on firm performance revealed by previous studies. Data on ROA were extracted from AIDA database and data on I4.0 technologies and LP were collected via survey. Data were analysed using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).