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Article
Publication date: 5 November 2020

Jan Stentoft, Kristian Philipsen, Anders Haug and Kent Adsbøll Wickstrøm

Additive manufacturing (AM) is one technology among the many under the umbrella of Industry 4.0 technologies. AM is developing rapidly, and extant research reveals that the…

Abstract

Purpose

Additive manufacturing (AM) is one technology among the many under the umbrella of Industry 4.0 technologies. AM is developing rapidly, and extant research reveals that the technology contains possibilities for firms to develop competitive advantages, but that it also poses several challenges to overcome before such benefits can be achieved. To provide further insight into this topic, this paper aims to analyse how a business association can disseminate knowledge and experience about AM to its members.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on 13 interviews from 11 different organisations within an embedded single-case study of a Danish non-profit business association.

Findings

The paper identifies 12 motivational factors for joining the association as well as seven perceived challenges in the current setup of the association. The paper demonstrates that barriers to the use of AM can be reduced through participation in a business association.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is based on a single-case study design and does not provide a foundation for statistical generalisations. The challenges identified are biased towards the companies that are members and do not represent companies that either consciously or unconsciously are not part of the association.

Practical implications

Being aware of the barriers for AM is important to optimize the benefits of joining a business association. However, operating such an association with the purpose of disseminating AM knowledge involves the inherent dilemma of protecting knowledge for the individual members, and at the same time, fostering knowledge sharing.

Originality/value

The paper provides novel data on how a business association can help mitigate perceived barriers to using AM.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 32 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 April 2023

Jan Stentoft, Kent Adsbøll Wickstrøm, Anders Haug and Kristian Philipsen

The digital transition process is an important strategic initiative for manufacturing companies to ensure continued competitiveness. The purpose is to investigate the relationship…

Abstract

Purpose

The digital transition process is an important strategic initiative for manufacturing companies to ensure continued competitiveness. The purpose is to investigate the relationship between firms' additive manufacturing (AM) readiness and product and process innovation and how this process is mediated by firms' make-or-buy decisions regarding performing AM processes internally or buying AM services from external partners.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a questionnaire survey including full answers from 157 small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies.

Findings

Results show a positive relationship between AM readiness and both product and process innovation. Results also reveal that firms with higher readiness invest more in in-house AM, which in turn promotes innovation. There was no significant association between AM readiness and the use of external AM services. Nonetheless, buying external AM services is still associated positively with innovation.

Research limitations/implications

Data in the questionnaire survey are provided by single respondents from each company and are only based on Danish respondents.

Practical implications

The results indicate that firms' product and process innovation benefits from higher AM readiness derive from increased investment in in-house AM rather than from increased use of external AM services. This also signifies that firms with lower levels of AM readiness buy external AM services and derive the innovation benefits hereof.

Originality/value

The paper delivers new, empirically found knowledge about how small- and medium-sized manufacturing can improve innovation by both making and buying AM services.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 123 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 May 2023

Kent Adsbøll Wickstrøm and Torben Eli Bager

This study examines the relationship between small-firm managers' propensity to participate in a growth-oriented training program and their subsequent program outcome in terms of…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the relationship between small-firm managers' propensity to participate in a growth-oriented training program and their subsequent program outcome in terms of strategic reorientation. From a policy perspective, this relates to the important question of what benefit would come from recruiting managers who are normally not easily recruitable for training programs.

Design/methodology/approach

A control group design including pre- and post-training surveys is used to assess the effects of a large-scale management training program. Accounting for selection bias, the difference-in-difference method, together with propensity score matching, was applied to assess average program effects. The matching-smoothing method was used to assess heterogeneity in program effects associated with participation propensity.

Findings

Overall, program participation associated positively with change in strategic orientations. This effect was especially pronounced for managers with either low or medium to high inclinations for program enrollment, while diminishing in the modest to medium range.

Practical implications

The findings have important practical implications for selection of target groups and recruitment strategies in relation to small-firm management training programs. From the results, recruitment strategies may effectively include managers with either high or low participation propensities, rather than aiming to “fill up” with managers with moderately low participation propensity.

Originality/value

Several extant studies have examined average treatment effects from small-firm training programs. Yet there has been a lack of examination of the extent to which participation propensity modifies the effect of training on outcomes. This study brings new knowledge of the direction and magnitude of such heterogeneous training effects.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 29 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 May 2023

Jan Stentoft, Ole Stegmann Mikkelsen and Kent Adsbøll Wickstrøm

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships of supply chain resilience (SCR) and absorptive capacity (ACAP) with firm performance by specifically examining the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships of supply chain resilience (SCR) and absorptive capacity (ACAP) with firm performance by specifically examining the crisis-mitigating effects under an environmental jolt such as COVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on data from a questionnaire survey among Danish manufacturing and transport and logistics companies with 174 respondents.

Findings

While the adaptive capabilities associated with both SCR and ACAP are well recognized in extant SCM literature, less is known about their boundary conditions. Examining the functioning of SCR and ACAP amid the COVID-19 crisis, this study finds that both SCR and ACAP related positively to firm performance. However, while the positive relationship between SCR and firm performance was partly mediated by better crisis-mitigation, the results of this study did not find that a similar mechanism was present for ACAP. These results suggest notable refinements of current understandings of SCR and ACAP.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited by the cross-sectional design, the focus on Danish companies only, and by examining only two industries. Hence, comparisons to other countries and other industries would be of significant interest.

Practical implications

Investing in SCR and ACAP to different extents provides for a complementary mix of longer-term opportunity-generating dynamic capabilities and more short-term crisis-mitigating dynamic capabilities. Firms will benefit from both types of dynamic capabilities during a crisis, but the latter will be more important for mitigating specific crisis impacts.

Originality/value

This paper extends current theorizing on ACAP and SCR by adding the distinction between the long-term opportunity generating dynamic capabilities and short-term crisis-mitigating dynamic capabilities. This paper provides novelty by empirically examining this theorizing by investigating the performance- and crisis-mitigating effect of SCR and ACAP in the light of the COVID-19 crisis.

Details

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, vol. 28 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-8546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 February 2020

Jan Stentoft, Kent Adsbøll Wickstrøm, Anders Haug and Kristian Philipsen

The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of how Industry 4.0 related technologies affect the relocation of manufacturing abroad by small and medium-sized…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of how Industry 4.0 related technologies affect the relocation of manufacturing abroad by small and medium-sized enterprises.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper contains an empirical analysis of how Industry 4.0 related technologies affect the cost-driven relocation of manufacturing abroad based on 191 comprehensive and full responses to a questionnaire survey distributed in 2018 among small- and medium-sized Danish manufacturers.

Findings

This paper builds upon data, which reveals that companies' pursuit of cost-focused competitive strategies is positively correlated with relocating manufacturing abroad. However, the data also shows that the more Industry 4.0-ready decision-makers are, the less cost-focused strategy drives manufacturing abroad. Furthermore, perceived barriers to Industry 4.0 related technologies promote the cost-driven relocation of manufacturing abroad whereas perceived drivers decrease this phenomenon.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is based on the answers given by a single respondent from each company and only on Danish respondents.

Practical implications

The results indicate a need to invest resources to obtain a better knowledge of Industry 4.0 related technologies when used in processes involved in decisions about where to locate manufacturing.

Originality/value

This paper contains new, empirically founded information about how Industry 4.0 related technologies affect the cost-driven relocation of manufacturing abroad from the perspective of small- and medium-sized manufacturers.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 March 2021

Harry Boer, Henrike E.E. Boer and Atanu Chaudhuri

109

Abstract

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Article
Publication date: 29 April 2021

Morteza Ghobakhloo and Mohammad Iranmanesh

The digital transformation under Industry 4.0 is complex and resource-intensive, making a strategic digitalization guideline vital to small and medium-sized enterprises' success…

8102

Abstract

Purpose

The digital transformation under Industry 4.0 is complex and resource-intensive, making a strategic digitalization guideline vital to small and medium-sized enterprises' success in the Industry 4.0 transition. The present study aims to provide manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a guideline for digital transformation success under Industry 4.0.

Design/methodology/approach

The study first performed a content-centric literature review to identify digital transformation success determinants. The study further implemented interpretive structural modeling to extract the order at which the success determinants should be present to facilitate the SMEs’ digital transformation success optimally. The interpretive model and interpretive logic knowledge base matrix were also used for developing the digital transformation guideline.

Findings

Eleven success determinants are vital to SMEs’ digital transformation efforts. For example, results revealed that external support for digitalization is the first step in ensuring digital transformation success among SMEs, while operations technology readiness is the most inaccessible success determinant.

Research limitations/implications

The study highlights the degree of importance of the 11 success determinants identified, which magnifies each determinant's strategic priority based on its driving power and dependence power. Theorizing the dependent variable of “digital transformation success” and quantitatively measuring the extent to which each success determinant contributes to explaining “digital transformation success” offers an exciting opportunity for future research.

Practical implications

Digital transformation success phenomenon within the Industry 4.0 context is significantly different from the digitalization success concept within the traditional literature. The digital transformation under Industry 4.0 is immensely resource-intensive and complex. Smaller manufacturers must have specific capabilities such as change management and digitalization strategic planning capability to reach a certain degree of information, digital, operations and cyber maturity.

Originality/value

The digital transformation success guide developed in the study describes each success determinants' functionality in relation to other determinants and explains how they might contribute to the digital transformation success within the manufacturing sector. This guide enables smaller manufacturers to better understand the concept of manufacturing digital transformation under Industry 4.0 and devise robust strategies to steer their digital transformation process effectively.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 32 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

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