Paradoxes in the Digital Transformation of Production Systems

Digital transformation of production systems is a challenging task that demands radical responses from existing organizations. During the digital transformation of productions systems tensions occur that need to be managed and the purpose of this paper is to identify paradoxes in the digital transformation of production systems. Paradox theory has been applied as an analytical framework when identifying digital transformation paradoxes and tensions. A case study has been conducted and two manufacturing companies’ digitalization projects have been studied and analyzed in combination with data from workshops around digital transformation. The results were mapped into four types of paradoxes: organizing, performing, belonging, and learning. We conclude that the identified tensions are intertwined, and a major tension is the degree of standardization of technologies (standardization vs customization) and a more agile way of working (learning by doing vs learning before) doing is a trend within the digital transformation of production system. Our findings are relevant to operations managers and others interested in tensions during the digital transformation of production systems.