Adopting Lean Industry 4.0: insights from Spanish manufacturing SMEs in an international context

Guerrero, Blanca, Mula, Josefa, Poler, Raul, Hines, Peter and Kumar, Maneesh ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2469-1382 2025. Adopting Lean Industry 4.0: insights from Spanish manufacturing SMEs in an international context. International Journal of Production Research 10.1080/00207543.2025.2606913

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Abstract

Lean approaches and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) offer a wide horizon of possibilities for improving production management efficiency. This study aims to analyse the state of lean I4.0 (LI4.0) in Spain's SMEs and compare it to the international context, i.e. other European countries and outside Europe. It analyses seven different aspects (departments involved, implementation maturity, motivations, maturity assessments and roadmap, enablers and challenges, people skills and competences, and institutional support) by a qualitative 29-question open-ended survey, answered by 179 Spanish SMEs, 123 from other European countries and 80 global companies, all from the secondary sector with fewer than 250 employees. The main findings highlight the need for context-specific approaches for LI4.0 adoption, noting that Spain’s approach differs from broader European and global trends by implementing lean and I4.0 simultaneously. Key enablers include employee commitment and a stronger focus on market needs. Increased government support could enhance adoption in Spain, while global efforts seek to address post-implementation knowledge gaps and integration support. These outcomes can provide SMEs with future research and effective support in their search for efficiency through LI4.0, and also guide third-party support agencies, particularly national and regional governmental bodies.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Business (Including Economics)
Publisher:	Taylor and Francis Group
ISSN:	0020-7543
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	7 January 2026
Date of Acceptance:	10 December 2025
Last Modified:	07 Jan 2026 10:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/183637

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