The interaction between lean production and industry 4.0: Mapping the current state of literature and highlighting gaps

Lean Production (LP) was born with the intention of improving company’s performances from an organizational aspect. Recently, a new paradigm has emerged promising the same impact but from a technological point of view, that is the fourth industrial revolution (I4.0). The study of the interaction between those two paradigms has become the center of interest of the scientific world. Each of the attempts, done in that regard, tackled this broad and new subject from a different perspective. The article aims at mapping those attempts to identify the type of interaction between LP and I4.0, whether they are mutually exclusive or inclusive, exhibit synergism or conflict, and highlight the areas in which this interaction is not investigated yet. Design/methodology/approach: The study relies on a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed articles discussing both LP and I4.0. Even though the term “Industry 4.0” was born in 2011, the “smart factory” term spans over decades, henceforth no time limit was set, up until and including February 2019. A coding analysis of all papers is conducted to reach a theoretical narrative, following the methodology of Carl Auerbach and Louise Silverstein in their book entitled “An introduction to coding analysis: Qualitative data” in 2003. Findings: The expected outcome of the study is a map of existing literature addressing the interaction between LP and I4.0, and future research directions to be investigated. Research limitations: The literature search comes from two main databases: Scopus and ScienceDirect leaving out other databases and the review is subject to a qualitative coding analysis. Practical implications: The results of the study show the current state of the literature, the possible gaps to be investigated, and help practitioners understand how this interaction unfolds and how they can benefit from it.