Learning Factory Labs as Field-in-the-Lab Environments – An Experimental Concept for Human-Centred Production Research

Abstract

A central challenge in the implementation of digitalisation and Industry 4.0 in companies is the human-centred development and design of the new technologies. These technologies have a major impact on the way people work and thus also on the motivation and satisfaction of employees. A thorough understanding of underlying drivers of employees’ technology acceptance and possible resistance to change is crucial for a successful implementation of such technologies. Experimental economic research methods comprise a way to record the effects on human behaviour and working methods allowing for causal evidence. Controlled laboratory conditions offer the option to vary only individual variables and measure their influence on human behaviour, motivation, satisfaction, or working methods. In contrast to standard computer labs, learning factories offer the possibility to carry out experiments in a real production environment and thus observing behaviour in real work tasks in a realistic environment. This leads to increased external validity while at the same time the strict experimental protocol still allows making causal claims. Learning factories so far do not fulfil laboratory requirements. We first outline the prerequisites for the execution of empirical experiments. We then introduce our research concept, based on the example of the Learning Factory Global Production of wbk. The goal of this paper is to create an environment that allows collecting empirical and meaningful research data in a learning factory. Finally, we exemplify our concept with an experimental design on how digitalisation can foster decentralised decision-making. This research will inform a more human-centred design of digitalisation technologies and its effects on employee behaviour.

Keywords: Industry 4.0; Human-Centred Production Systems; Behavioural and Experimental Economics; Experimental Design