Construction of digital 3D magic-cube organization structure for innovation-driven manufacturing

Owing to the heterogeneity between functional units and resource scarcity,manufacturing firms have been struggling with intra-organizational coordination for productivity and innovation.Traditional organizational structures,such as linear-functional and matrix,may cause responsibility division and independent goals(Shahani,2020),and are more difficult to be adopted by large-sized innovative manufacturing firms for quantity production.This is based on a review of several new forms of organization(i.e.,network organization,multiteam system,and platform organization)compared with the traditional forms of organization(i.e.,linear,matrix,and business unit organization,among others).This study proposes a three-dimensional(3D)magic-cube organizational structure,considering the product dimensions,business,and administration.Moreover,the characteristics,propositions of system operation,system dynamic model,and working model of the 3D magic-cube organization are described.Finally,the 3D model is applied in a Chinese manufacturing firm to test its effectiveness.By redesigning the post and pay system,the pilot organization establishes a project-driven and cross-functional coordination mechanism,positively affecting the firm’s financial profit,output value,labor productivity,and income of per capita.The proposed 3D model can be adopted by large-or medium-sized manufacturing firms for product development and innovation.The implications of both practice and theory are also discussed in this study.