Mediating effect of the adoption of industry 4.0 technologies on the relationship between job involvement and job performance of millennials

Despite recent interest in Industry 4.0, little is known about the relationship between job involvement and job performance of millennial workers in companies. The present study addresses this knowledge gap by exploring the mediation of the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies (IND) between job involvement (INV) and job performance (PRF). Data was collected from 241 employees of large Canadian companies. The structural equation model was used to test the mediation effect of IND and the relationship between INV and PRF. Results based on this model (SEM) revealed differences by gender. It was found that in men, INV was positively related to PRF and that in women, INV was positively related to IND, although it was also evident that millennial employees showed egalitarian gender attitudes by strongly perceiving IND positively with PRF. Furthermore, IND fully measured the relationship between INV and PRF in manufacturing firms but not in service firms. Years of work experience was also found to affect the mediation effect of IND between INV and PRF, while it was not significant for education level. This study also highlights demographic criteria such as the age, income, and status of millennial employees. Implications of these findings are discussed, and useful insights are provided on new I4.0 approaches that improve industrial processes. This research contributes to developing the Theory of Planned Behaviour and proposes that managers use current continuous improvement approaches, human-centred and consistent with new I4.0 technologies.