Pedro Senna

Abstract

Abstract
The digital transformation of manufacturing activities is expected to bring large societal benefits in terms of productivity and sustainability. However, uptake of digital technologies is slower than desirable. As a result, governments are taking action to try to overcome some of the barriers to adoption. However, the mechanisms through which government may act are quite diverse. In this paper, we compare the national strategies across the 27 countries members of the European Union. We map each country's initiative to 14 barriers to the adoption of digital technologies in manufacturing observed in the literature. We observe that most institutional efforts focus on providing funding, developing new regulatory frameworks related to data privacy and security, and creating human capital. Some known barriers to adoption observed at the firm level, such as the lack of off-the-shelf solutions, or the need for retrofitting old equipment, are largely overlooked. We do not find any relationship between the number of initiatives proposed by each country, and the country's existing level of digitalization. We conclude by proposing several policy recommendations, as well as directions for future research.

Abstract
While Industry 4.0 promises large technological improvements, firms face multiple challenges in its adoption. Current literature has made significant efforts to identify the barriers which are common to most companies but fails to identify their interrelationships and their implications for practitioners. We use interpretive structural modelling (ISM) methodology to identify these barriers and their interrelationships, combined with matrix impact of cross multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) analysis to identify the root barriers, in the context of the Portuguese manufacturing industry. We categorize these barriers using the Technology -Organization-Environment framework. We conclude that barriers related to standardization and lack of off -the-shelf solutions are considered root barriers. Our results differ from other studies that regard barriers related to legal and contractual uncertainty with the highest driving power and lowest dependence power. Also, we find that organizational barriers have the highest dependency and lowest driving power, contradicting studies on the topic. We provide recommendations for managers and policymakers in three areas: Standardization Dissemination, Infrastructure Development, and Digital Strategy.

Abstract
This paper focuses on the identification of collaborative strategies and practices adopted by companies of the fashion industry in the management of customized offerings (both products and services) along their supply chain (SC). A multiple case study approach is applied and four companies (both medium and large) were interviewed. The cross-case analysis enabled mapping the cases following two dimensions: type of market asking for the customization (B2B vs. B2C) and scope of customization (products vs. services). The analysis highlights the practices and processes related to the customization, the enabling technologies adopted, and the actors involved by a focal company in the collaboration (both in upstream and downstream networks) to offer the product or service that meet customer needs.

Abstract
AbstractExtreme disruptive events, such as the volcano eruption in Iceland, the Japanese tsunami, and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as constant changes in customers’ needs and expectations, have forced supply chains to continuously adapt to new environments. Consequently, it is paramount to understand the supply chain characteristics for possible future scenarios, in order to know how to respond to threats and take advantage of the opportunities that the next years will bring. This chapter focuses on describing the characteristics of the supply chain in each of the six macro-scenarios presented in Sardesai et al. (2020b), as final stage of the scenario building methodology. Supply chains for each scenario are characterized in eight dimensions: Products and Services, Supply Chain Paradigm, Sourcing and Distribution, Technology Level, Supply Chain Configuration, Manufacturing Systems, Sales Channel, and Sustainability.