Purpose

We studied the relationship between job engagement and systematic problem solving (SPS) among shop-floor employees and how lean production (LP) and Internet of Things (IoT) systems moderate this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

We collected data from a sample of 440 shop floor workers in 101 manufacturing work units across 33 plants. Because our data is nested, we employed a series of multilevel regression models to test the hypotheses. The application of IoT systems within work units was evaluated by our research team through direct observations from on-site visits.

Findings

Our findings indicate a positive association between job engagement and SPS. Additionally, we found that the adoption of lean bundles positively moderates this relationship, while, surprisingly, the adoption of IoT systems negatively moderates this relationship. Interestingly, we found that, when the adoption of IoT systems is complemented by a lean management system, workers tend to experience a higher effect on the SPS of their engagement.

Research limitations/implications

One limitation of this research is the reliance on the self-reported data collected from both workers (job engagement, SPS and control variables) and supervisors (lean bundles). Furthermore, our study was conducted in a specific country, Italy, which might have limitations on the generalizability of the results since cross-cultural differences in job engagement and SPS have been documented.

Practical implications

Our findings highlight that employees’ strong engagement in SPS behaviors is shaped by the managerial and technological systems implemented on the shop floor. Specifically, we point out that implementing IoT systems without the appropriate managerial practices can pose challenges to fostering employee engagement and SPS.

Originality/value

This paper provides new insights on how lean and new technologies contribute to the development of learning-to-learn capabilities at the individual level by empirically analyzing the moderating effects of IoT systems and LP on the relationship between job engagement and SPS.

中文翻译：

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精益和数字化是否能更好地解决问题？对意大利制造企业的实证研究

目的

我们研究了车间员工的工作投入度和系统性问题解决 (SPS) 之间的关系，以及精益生产 (LP) 和物联网 (IoT) 系统如何调节这种关系。

设计/方法论/途径

我们从 33 家工厂 101 个制造工作单位的 440 名车间工人中收集了样本数据。由于我们的数据是嵌套的，因此我们采用了一系列多级回归模型来检验假设。我们的研究团队通过现场走访的直接观察，对物联网系统在单位内的应用进行了评估。

发现

我们的研究结果表明工作投入与 SPS 之间存在正相关关系。此外，我们发现精益捆绑的采用积极地调节了这种关系，而令人惊讶的是，物联网系统的采用消极地调节了这种关系。有趣的是，我们发现，当物联网系统的采用辅以精益管理系统时，员工的敬业度 SPS 往往会受到更大的影响。

研究局限性/影响

这项研究的一个局限性是依赖于从工人（工作投入、SPS 和控制变量）和主管（精益捆绑）收集的自我报告数据。此外，我们的研究是在意大利这个特定国家进行的，由于工作投入和 SPS 方面的跨文化差异已被记录下来，因此结果的普遍性可能受到限制。

实际影响

我们的研究结果强调，员工对 SPS 行为的强烈参与是由车间实施的管理和技术系统决定的。具体而言，我们指出，在没有适当管理实践的情况下实施物联网系统可能会给促进员工敬业度和 SPS 带来挑战。

原创性/价值

本文通过实证分析物联网系统和 LP 对工作投入和 SPS 之间关系的调节作用，提供了关于精益和新技术如何促进个人层面的学习能力发展的新见解。