Combining Organizational and Social Factors to Support Industry 4.0 Implementation: A Sociotechnical and Configurational Analysis of Technology Adopters

Industry 4.0 has been conceived to enhance factory productivity, significantly impacting social aspects such as hierarchical structures, workers' skills, and operational routines. As digital technologies reshape factory activities, the need to support workers and their social environment has become crucial. This article discusses the importance of viewing Industry 4.0 as a sociotechnical system where human and technological elements interact. Despite the recognition of sociotechnical factors in the existing literature, a key gap remains: the interrelation of these factors is often overlooked. We propose using the configurational view, which considers different patterns of sociotechnical configurations within organizations. We analyze 132 manufacturing companies, identifying four distinct sociotechnical configurations. The results indicate that companies combining both social and organizational factors—termed “sociotechnical masters”—achieve the highest performance levels. We contribute to the literature by demonstrating how the integration of sociotechnical and configurational theories offers a more comprehensive framework for interpreting and guiding Industry 4.0 implementation. From a practical standpoint, we provide a detailed list of organizational and social factors to assist managers in establishing a balanced sociotechnical system that supports the successful adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies. In addition, we show how the combination of these factors can improve operational performance metrics.