Prioritizing leagile manufacturing implementation barriers in the context of Industry 4.0
an integrated framework for causal mapping in the automotive parts industry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14488/BJOPM.3430.2026Keywords:
Leagile manufacturing, Industry 4.0, Implementation barriers, Fuzzy Delphi, DEMATEL–DANPAbstract
Goal: This study identifies, maps, and prioritizes barriers to leagile manufacturing implementation under Industry 4.0 in the Iranian automotive parts industry and distinguishes cause-type from effect-type barriers.
Design / Methodology / Approach: A literature review identified 28 barriers, while experts proposed three additional barriers. Judgments from 15 industrial managers, consultants, and academic experts were analyzed using fuzzy Delphi to screen barriers, DEMATEL to map direct and indirect influence relationships, and DANP to derive interdependent priority weights.
Results: Fuzzy Delphi retained 11 of 31 candidate barriers. DEMATEL showed that the most influential cause-type barriers concerned organizational management, leadership, employee training, and understanding of leagile concepts. DANP ranked ineffective organizational management, lack of employee training, lack of understanding of leagile concepts, and lack of top management commitment as the four most critical barriers. These upstream weaknesses were assessed as influencing downstream operational and technological problems.
Limitations of the investigation: The findings are based on subjective expert judgments collected within a single industry and country using a cross-sectional design. Therefore, the rankings may be context-dependent and may not capture changes in barrier relationships over time.
Practical implications: Automotive parts manufacturers should strengthen organizational readiness, leadership commitment, employee training, understanding of leagile principles, and performance measurement as foundations for flexibility and digitalization initiatives.
Originality / Value: This study treats leagile implementation barriers as an interdependent system and integrates screening, causal mapping, and priority weighting into a context-specific framework for allocating transformation resources under Industry 4.0.
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