Motivations, barriers and readiness factors for Quality 4.0 implementation: an exploratory study

Abstract

PurposeQuality 4.0 is the new buzzword among quality professionals. There has been no empirical study of Quality 4.0 yet. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate what are the motivations, barriers and readiness factors for Quality 4.0 implementation.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses an online survey on senior quality professionals working in leading companies in Europe and America. In total, 50 participants participated in this study.FindingsThis study finds the top five motivating, barriers and readiness factors for Quality 4.0 implementation. These factors are ranked in terms of the order of importance as perceived by senior quality professionals.Research limitations/implicationsThis is the first empirical study on Quality 4.0 that investigates the motivation, barriers and readiness factors of Quality 4.0. This study provides a theoretical base of Quality 4.0 body of knowledge in terms of its practical relevance and adoption in modern-day organizations.Practical implicationsOrganizations can use this study to understand what the motivation and barriers for implementing Quality 4.0. In addition, before implementation of Quality 4.0, the readiness factor for Quality 4.0 can be used by organizations to evaluate their preparedness before the actual implementation of the initiative.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical study on Quality 4.0 that captures the viewpoints of senior quality professionals on the motivation, barriers and readiness factors of Quality 4.0.

Quality 4.0 – a review of and framework for quality management in the digital era

“…Shortened time-to-market first, and then the growing product complexity, increasing globalization, and a rise in regulatory changes justify the need for Quality 4.0 (Krubasik et al, 2017). Reliable and accurate data, Big data driven QM, improved customer satisfaction, productivity improvement, cost and time savings, in the long run, are the top five motivators for Quality 4.0 adoption (Sony et al, 2021).…”

“…The study by Bass and Avolio (1994) shows how different combinations of transformational and transactional leadership leads to different types of cultures in an organization. Research literature has, thus far, placed a high importance on the role that culture plays in the successful adoption of Quality 4.0 (Forero and Sisodia, 2020;Jacob, 2017;Krubasik et al, 2017;K€ upper et al, 2019;Radziwill, 2018;Sony et al, 2020Sony et al, , 2021. Even national cultures impact quality management outcomes (Lagrosen, 2003).…”

“…Quality management is concerned with how personal, organizational and societal Quality 4.0a review and framework resources are used to achieve quality (Asif, 2020). Customer focus has always been a central theme of QM, be it meeting customer requirement, customer satisfaction or customer value (based on Anderson et al, 1994;Flynn et al, 1994;Sony et al, 2021). Therefore, the ultimate objective of Quality 4.0 is to support organizations to meet customer and societal requirements.…”

“…, 2017). Reliable and accurate data, Big data driven QM, improved customer satisfaction, productivity improvement, cost and time savings, in the long run, are the top five motivators for Quality 4.0 adoption (Sony et al , 2021).…”

Prioritization of Factors Affecting the Digitalization of Quality Management Using Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Fuzzy Best-Worst Method

“…As new technologies emerge to overcome the difficulties in quality management, quality is increasingly important for organizations. The use by technology providers of Industry 4.0 to show that quality should be an organization-wide strategy has led to it being called Quality 4.0 or digital quality management [3]. The implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies to quality management has been important roles such as real-time process monitoring and data collection and analytic supported predictive maintenance in the factory of the future [4].…”