Spanish small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) that adopt robots tend to become more productive, with the strongest gains seen among smaller and less innovative firms. However, automation alone does not appear to increase exports. Instead, international activity is closely associated with the presence of specialised industrial clusters and related businesses within a region, according to a pioneering study by researchers at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC).
The research, published in the Journal of the Knowledge Economy, is among the first to examine how robot adoption affects manufacturing SMEs with between 10 and 200 employees. “The smaller the firm, the greater the increase in productivity when robots are introduced,” said study co-author Carles Méndez of the Interdisciplinary Research Group on ICT (i2TIC-IA Lab). In larger firms, productivity gains were less significant. The researchers also found that robots had a positive effect across different businesses, but their impact was smaller in companies that were already highly innovative.
Researchers analysed data from nearly 5,000 Spanish manufacturing firms between 1990 and 2016, drawing on an extensive industrial database compiled by the SEPI Foundation. The focus on SMEs is particularly significant because these businesses generate around two-thirds of Spain’s added value and employ more than half of the country’s active population. According to UOC-DIGIT director Joan Torrent, industrial companies can also provide higher-quality and better-paid jobs than sectors such as tourism and services, highlighting manufacturing’s potential as a source of long-term employment.
Despite the productivity benefits of robots, the researchers found no direct relationship between automation and increased exports. Regional conditions proved far more important. SMEs located near companies operating in the same or related industries were more likely to participate in international markets. Méndez said specialised industrial environments can promote the exchange of knowledge, skilled workers and technical expertise, creating “localisation economies” that strengthen the export capacity of smaller businesses.
A separate UOC-led study, also published in the Journal of the Knowledge Economy, examined the wider digital transformation of SMEs using data from the same period. The findings challenge the assumption that adopting digital technologies automatically produces lasting productivity gains. Instead, digital tools appear to selectively support productivity and internationalisation, particularly among highly digitalised firms that are already active in importing and exporting. Torrent warned that it is a mistake to expect digitalisation to produce uniform results, as different technologies involve distinct methods and deliver different benefits.
The second study also reinforced the advantages of robotic automation while emphasising that technology must be supported by organisational change and skilled employees. Well-trained personnel, flexible management structures and less bureaucratic organisations are essential if businesses are to gain the full benefits of new technologies, the researchers said. Digital networks and platforms can also encourage greater collaboration between SMEs, an area where Spanish and Catalan businesses have traditionally lagged. Torrent argued that encouraging companies to work together could help address a longstanding weakness in Spain’s business system and improve both productivity and international competitiveness.
More information: Sebastiano Cattaruzzo et al, Robots, Firms, and Regions: Explaining Spanish Manufacturing Firms’ Productivity and Exports, Journal of the Knowledge Economy. DOI: 10.1007/s13132-026-03261-7
Journal information: Journal of the Knowledge Economy Provided by Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)