Do repetitive and non-repetitive companies equally benefit from Lean 4.0?

Abstract

PurposeThe integration between the traditional lean management and Industry 4.0, namely called Lean 4.0, is under the spotlight of both academia and practitioners. While we agree on the benefits Lean 4.0 may bring to companies performance, we still lack a deep understanding of the characteristics of this paradigm, such as its effective application space. Recalling traditional lean better suits repetitive companies, we are keen to understand whether the anew Lean 4.0 will enlarge its application space.Design/methodology/approachWe performed an exploratory study, using a quantitative analysis based on Bayesian network approach to investigate whether Lean 4.0 results to be as effective in repetitive companies as in non-repetitive ones, in terms of operational performance.FindingsWhile our findings confirm that Lean 4.0 will enhance companies' performance regardless their production strategies, companies adopting a repetitive strategy do benefit from a much higher improvement. Our findings provide an insight on the true applicability space of Lean 4.0, which seems to be the same as the traditional lean.Originality/valueWe contribute to the ongoing debate of Lean 4.0 providing initial empirical evidence on how to improve the operational performance in non-repetitive companies, seeing that Lean 4.0 might not be the best choice in its current format.