Manufacturing Execution System in Industry 4.0 Era: From Implementation to Impacts on Job Design

The spread of Industry 4.0 in recent years has been remarkable in Europe, mainly due to the investments and incentives provided to upgrade manufacturing companies' production processes. This study focuses on the application of the Manufacturing Execution System (MES), often identified as an enabler of Industry 4.0. The first objective of the study is to explore the actual deployment of MES technology in manufacturing organizations and identify any links to the adoption of 4.0 enabling technologies. Second, the research aims to understand the potential impacts of MES on job design and outcomes considering the manufacturing workforce. To achieve these goals, the research is based on a mixed method that can combine the advantages of the quantitative approach with those of the qualitative one. The results of the study show how the implementation of a new technology, in the Indusrty 4.0 context, can have significant effects on the autonomy, variety and relevance of work and consequently how it can improve performance, motivation and satisfaction of workers. Where digitalization is often seen as a threat, our paper instead shows its positive side, while highlighting under what conditions this “good” dimension prevails.