Industry 4.0 Enablers: Implementation of Organizational Concepts as a Support for Technological Improvements of Manufacturing Companies

Abstract

Research related to the Industry 4.0 is mainly oriented towards the use of advanced manufacturing technologies that are considered as enablers of this new manufacturing concept. The importance of organisational aspects in this context is starting to get recognised, but there is a lack of empirical research that supports these claims. This paper aims to go one step backwards and to analyse the relationship between the implementation of organizational concepts and technologies that are vital for manufacturers aiming to introduce Industry 4.0 concept. The analysis is based on the dataset collected from 240 Serbian manufacturing companies in 2018 through the international project European Manufacturing Survey. Using the regression analysis it is revealed that utilization of concepts related to organisation, management, and controlling of production have a positive impact on the implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies in companies. This paper highlights the complementarity between organisational and technological aspects of production and their relevance for manufacturing companies. Furthermore, this paper provides empirical evidence on the use of organisational concepts and advanced manufacturing technologies in manufacturing companies from a transitional country, thus opening a debate for those researchers and practitioners interested in research related to transitional economies.