Abstract

Abstract

Abstract
The footwear industry, a sub-sector of textile industrial sector, faces increased pressures towards higher levels of sustainability and circularity along all the value chain. Along the last decades, shoe products have become more complex products, integrating a greater number of components, materials diversity and often long supply-chains related to cost reduction and production or sourcing delocalization strategies. Full value-chain digitalization, as a cornerstone of Industry 4.0 paradigm, plays a key role for leveraging more sustainable and circular products, namely by traceability operationalization and forthcoming instruments such as Digital Product Passport. This research studied, via a state-of-art framing of the challenges followed by qualitative approach, how Industry 4.0 technologies can support the development of new services that contribute to sustainable and circular practices in footwear companies. An interview-based survey was conducted to 6 footwear companies, to map the adoption level of Industry 4.0 technologies and cross-linking to circular services business models. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

Abstract
Collaborative robots (cobots) are emerging in manufacturing as a response to the current mass customization production paradigm and the fifth industrial revolution. Before adopting this technology in production processes and benefiting from its advantages, manufacturers need to analyze the investment. Therefore, this study aims to develop a decision -making framework for cobot adoption, incorporating a comprehensive set of quantitative and qualitative criteria, to be used by decision -makers in manufacturing companies. To achieve that objective, a qualitative study was conducted by collecting data through interviews with key actors in the cobot (or advanced manufacturing technologies) adoption decision process in manufacturing companies. The main findings of this study include, firstly, an extensive list of decision criteria, as well as some indicators to be used by decisionmakers, some of which are new to the literature. Secondly, a decision -making framework for cobot adoption is proposed, as well as a set of guidelines to use it. The framework is based on a weighted scoring method and can be customizable by the manufacturing company depending on its specific context, needs, and resources. The main contribution of this study consists in assisting decision -makers of manufacturing companies in performing more complete and sustained decision analyses regarding cobots adoption.

Abstract
Collaborative robots, or cobots, are increasingly used by manufacturing companies to meet the demands for greater flexibility and to adapt to the trend of mass customisation in production. When considering the adoption of cobots, companies enter a critical decision-making phase. This study aims to identify the relevant decision factors for adopting collaborative robots (cobots) in manufacturing medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Portugal, using a combined framework of Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE), Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory, and Institutional Theory. Data was collected through an online survey distributed to Portuguese manufacturing companies, yielding 78 valid responses. Analysis conducted using SmartPLS 4 revealed that top management support, resource availability, and industry pressure significantly influence the adoption decision. However, factors such as the relative advantage of cobots, compatibility with existing processes, organisational innovativeness, human resources quality, and external support did not significantly impact SMEs' adoption of cobots. These findings enhance the understanding of technology management, specifically the process of adopting cobots in manufacturing. The insights from this study help managers focus on the key factors critical for successful cobot adoption, supporting decision-makers in making more informed choices.