Digital Machines, Space, and Time: Towards a Behavioral Perspective of Flexible Manufacturing

Recently, the diffusion of digital machines has further enhanced firms’ manufacturing flexibility, but also opened questions on potential challenges and implications in the production process. To respond to these timely issues, this study adopts a behavioral perspective and comparatively explores how four different types of digital machines—characterized by increasing degrees of manufacturing flexibility—affect the perception and use of space and time for routines within the production plant. To this end, 45 digital manufacturing machines, sampled across 14 firms in the British and Italian motorsport industry, were qualitatively observed and compared. A model emerges where four key mechanisms reshape (1) the interactive space around the machine, (2) the innovation activities performed in the machine space, (3) the time within activities involving the machine, and (4) the time perception. Such mechanisms mediate the relationship between manufacturing flexibility and firm performance. Further, data show how increasing digitalization in the manufacturing process enhances the establishment of new routines as flexible machines get introduced in the production. Finally, theoretical and practical implications related to fostering a behavioral perspective in innovation and operations management studies are discussed.