Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are vital to the economy across various business domains, including manufacturing. However, as manufacturing principles and technologies evolve, SMEs often struggle to fully benefit from emerging knowledge and innovations. Their limited capacity to absorb and apply expertise in physical and data-driven processes hinders manufacturing innovation. One way to build this capacity is through professionals’ engagement in learning factory activities. Learning factory approaches have been proposed as a means to support the development of knowledge and competencies essential for manufacturing innovation. To advance the understanding of how knowledge and skills gained through learning factory approaches influence manufacturing innovation, this study explores the question: “What role do diverse learning factory approaches play in facilitating SMEs’ transition to new manufacturing technologies and operational strategies?”