Adoption patterns and performance implications of Smart Maintenance

To substantiate and extend emergent research on maintenance in digitalized manufacturing, we examine adoption patterns and performance implications of the four dimensions of Smart Maintenance: data-driven decision-making, human capital resource, internal integration, and external integration. Using data collected from 145 Swedish manufacturing plants, we apply a configurational approach to study how emergent patterns of Smart Maintenance are shaped and formed, as well as how the patterns are related to the operating environment and the performance of the manufacturing plant. Cluster analysis was used to develop an empirical taxonomy of Smart Maintenance, revealing four emergent patterns that reflect the strength and balance of the underlying dimensions. Canonical discriminant analysis indicated that the Smart Maintenance patterns are related to operating environments with a higher level of digitalization. The results from ANOVA and NCA showed the importance of a coordinated and joint Smart Maintenance implementation to the maintenance performance and productivity of the manufacturing plant. This study contributes to the literature on industrial maintenance by expanding and strengthening the theoretical and empirical foundation of Smart Maintenance, and it provides managerial advice for making strategic decisions about Smart Maintenance implementation.