Effect of Industry 4.0 on the relationship between socio-technical practices and workers' performance

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the moderating effect of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies on the relationship between socio-technical (ST) practices and workers' health, quality and productivity performance.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, 192 practitioners from different manufacturing firms adopting I4.0 technologies were surveyed, analyzed the collected data using multivariate techniques and discussed the results in light of ST theory.FindingsFindings indicate that I4.0 moderates the relationship between ST practices and performance, to an extent and direction that varied according to the focus of the technologies and practices adopted.Originality/valueThe I4.0 movement has triggered changes in the work organization at unprecedented rates, impacting firms' social and technical aspects. This study bridges a gap in the literature concerning the integration of I4.0 technologies into manufacturing firms adopting ST practices, enabling the verification of the moderating effects on workers' performance. Although previous studies have investigated that relationship, the moderating effect of I4.0 on performance is still underexplored, characterizing an important contribution of this research.