Linking competitive priorities, smart manufacturing advancement and organizational microfoundations
研究基于234家汽车零部件企业数据，发现竞争优先权通过组织微观基础完全中介影响智能制造进展，为管理者提供了组织环境是智能制造前提的量化证据。
Purpose Smart Manufacturing (SM) lies at the core of Industry 4.0. Operations management research has investigated the determinants of SM advancement but there is still limited understanding of the linkages between SM and organizational factors and about whether both the technological and organizational subsystems for SM are guided by firms’ competitive priorities. To close these gaps, building on operations strategy theory, this paper aims to empirically test a model positing that competitive priorities drive SM advancement. The relation between competitive priorities and SM advancement is assumed to be mediated by organizational microfoundations. Design/methodology/approach Using data from a single respondent survey with 234 firms in the automotive component industry, structural equation modeling is adopted to test the model hypotheses. Relevant constructs are measured with reference to the lead plant for SM. Findings Findings highlight that SM advancement is driven by the need to simultaneously compete in terms of cost, quality and delivery, thus suggesting that manufacturers view SM as a mean to develop multiple manufacturing capabilities. Organizational microfoundations fully mediate the relation between competitive priorities and SM advancement. Originality/value Results have implications for SM research, as they provide an understanding of the strategic priorities of firms engaging in SM. Findings also bear relevance for manufacturing executives engaged in the SM transformation, as they provide quantitative evidence that shaping an adequate organizational environment is a prerequisite for SM advancement.