Measuring Lean Culture: Designing a Research Instrument

Authors

  • Azim Azuan Osman School of Technology Management and LogisticSchool of Technology Management and Logistics, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Kedah, Malaysia
  • Norani Nordin School of Technology Management and Logistics, UniverSchool of Technology Management and Logistics, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Kedah, Malaysia
  • Mohd Faizol Abd Rahman Organizational Excellence DepartmOrganizational Excellence Department, Malaysia Productivity Corporation, 46200 Selangor, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15282/jmmst.v5i1.5821

Keywords:

lean soft practices, lean social pillar, human-related lean, measurement items, lean culture

Abstract

Transformation from conventional manufacturing system to lean manufacturing system has enabled many manufacturing companies to reduce waste and ultimately achieve operational excellence. Unfortunately, there were also many reported cases where manufacturers failed to sustain the transformation until they achieve the ultimate result. Converting organization’s culture into the lean culture is often claimed as one of the mechanisms to sustain lean transformation in manufacturing organizations. Thus, measuring to what level lean manufacturers have converted their organization’s culture relative to lean culture characteristics is critical. Selfadministered questionnaire is a practical research instrument to measure the level of lean culture in multiple manufacturing organizations that are located in far-reaching geographical as it saves time, money and effort. In this paper, 36 questionnaire items for measuring lean culture has been designed. These items can be used as parameters for predicting sustainability of lean transformation using statistical analysis such as linear regression or structural equation modelling.

References

Abdallah, A. B., Ed Dahiyat, S., & Matsui, Y. (2019). Lean management and innovation performance: Evidence from international manufacturing companies. Management Research Review, 42(2), 239-262. doi:10.1108/MRR-10-2017-0363

Al Najem, M., Garza-Reyes, J. A., & El Melegy, A. (2019). Measuring the lean readiness of Kuwaiti manufacturing industries. International Journal of Business Performance Management, 20(1), 70-92. doi:10.1504/ijbpm.2019.096467

Alston, F. (2017). Lean Implementation Applications and Hidden Costs. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Antomarioni, S., Ciarapica, F. E., De Sanctis, I., & Ordieres-Meré, J. (2019). The influence of cultural dimensions on lean projects success and barriers. International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 18(2), 151-182. doi:10.1504/ijmdm.2019.098644

Basu, P., Ghosh, I., & Dan, P. K. (2018). Using structural equation modelling to integrate human resources with internal practices for lean manufacturing implementation. Management Science Letters, 8(1), 51-68. doi:10.5267/j.msl.2017.10.001

Beraldin, A. R., Danese, P., & Romano, P. (2019). An investigation of the relationship between lean and well-being based on the job demands-resources model. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 39(12), 1295-1322. doi:10.1108/IJOPM-05-2019-0377

Bhasin, S., & Burcher, P. (2006). Lean viewed as a philosophy. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 17(1), 56-72.

Bicheno, J., & Holweg, M. (2009). The lean toolbox: The essential guide to lean transformation (4th Ed.). Buckingham, United Kingdom: PICSIE Books.

Boateng, G. O., Neilands, T. B., Frongillo, E. A., Melgar-Quiñonez, H. R., & Young, S. L. (2018). Best practices for developing and validating scales for health, social, and behavioral research: A primer. Frontiers in public health, 6(149), 1-18.

Bortolotti, T., Boscari, S., & Danese, P. (2015). Successful lean implementation: Organizational culture and soft lean practices. International Journal of Production Economics, 160, 182-201. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2014.10.013

Carpenter, S. (2018). Ten steps in scale development and reporting: A guide for researchers. Communication Methods and Measures, 12(1), 25-44.

Charron, R., Harrington, H. J., & Wiggin, H. (2014). The Lean Management Systems Handbook (1st ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Che Mamat, R., Md Deros, B., Ab Rahman, M. N., Omar, M. K., & Abdullah, S. (2015). Soft lean practices for successful lean production system implementation in Malaysia automotive SMEs. Jurnal Teknologi, 77(27), 141-150. doi:10.11113/jt.v77.6910

Churchill, G. A. (1979). A paradigm for developing better measures of marketing constructs. Journal of Marketing Research, 16(1), 64-73. doi:10.2307/3150876

Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2014). Business research methods (12th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Costa, F., Lispi, L., Staudacher, A. P., Rossini, M., Kundu, K., & Cifone, F. D. (2019). How to foster sustainable continuous improvement: A cause-effect relations map of lean soft practices. Operations Research Perspectives, 6, 100091. doi:10.1016/j.orp.2018.100091

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Czabke, J., Hansen, E. N., & Doolen, T. L. (2008). A multisite field study of lean thinking in US and German secondary wood products manufacturers. Forest Products Journal, 58(9), 77.

De Vaus, D. (2002). Surveys in social research (5th ed.). New South Wales, Australia: Allen & Unwin.

Degirmenci, T., Yegul, M. F., Erenay, F. S., Striepe, S., & Yavuz, M. (2013). Potential of standardization and certification for successful lean implementations. Journal of Enterprise Transformation, 3(3), 211-232. doi:10.1080/19488289.2013.816809

Dennis, P. (2016). Lean production simplified: A plain-language guide to the world's most powerful production system (3rd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

DeVellis, R. F. (2016). Scale development: Theory and Application (4th ed. Vol. 26). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Dorval, M., Jobin, M.-H., & Benomar, N. (2019). Lean culture: A comprehensive systematic literature review. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 68(5), 920-937. doi:10.1108/IJPPM-03-2018-0087

El Khalil, R. (2018). The mediating effect of lean management on the relationship between flexibility implementation and operational metrics in US automotive manufacturing plants. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 29(8), 1376-1399. doi:10.1108/JMTM-04-2018-0108

Fowler, F. J. (2014). Survey research methods (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to design and evaluate research in education (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Fricke, C. F. (2010). Lean management: Awareness, implementation status, and need for implementation support in virginia’s wood industry. (Master of Science in Wood Science and Forest Products), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.

Gaiardelli, P., Resta, B., & Dotti, S. (2019). Exploring the role of human factors in lean management. International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, 10(1), 339-366. doi:10.1108/IJLSS-08-2017-0094

Galeazzo, A., Furlan, A., & Vinelli, A. (2017). The organizational infrastructure of continuous improvement – an empirical analysis. Operations Management Research, 10(1), 33-46. doi:10.1007/s12063-016-0112-1

García, J. L., Maldonado, A. A., Alvarado, A., & Rivera, D. G. (2014). Human critical success factors for kaizen and its impacts in industrial performance. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 70(9), 2187-2198. doi:10.1007/s00170-013-5445-4

Gaudet, J., & Bergeron, F. (2016). Lean: it’s not rocket science, it’s work science. Retrieved from Ottowa, ON: https://ruor.uottawa.ca/handle/10393/35002

Ghobakhloo, M., Fathi, M., Fontes, D. B. M. M., & Ng, T. C. (2018). Modeling lean manufacturing success. Journal of Modelling in Management, 13(4), 908-931. doi:10.1108/JM2-03-2017-0025

Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate data analysis (8th ed.). Hampshire, UK: Cengage Learning.

Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Inc.

Hayduk, L. A., & Littvay, L. (2012). Should researchers use single indicators, best indicators, or multiple indicators in structural equation models? BMC Medical Research Methodology, 12(1), 159. doi:10.1186/1471-2288-12-159

Hernandez-Matias, J. C., Ocampo, J. R., Hidalgo, A., & Vizan, A. (2020). Lean manufacturing and operational performance: Interrelationships between human-related lean practices. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 31(2), 217-235. doi:10.1108/JMTM-04-2019-0140

Hines, P., Found, P. A., Griffiths, G., & Harrison, R. (2011). Staying lean: Thriving, not just surviving (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Lean Enterprise Research Centre, Cardiff University.

Hogan, B. J. (2009, December 1st, 2016). Sustaining a lean culture. Manufacturing Engineering Magazine, 143, 71-76.

Höök, M. (2008). Lean culture in industrialized housing: A study of timber volume element prefabrication. (Doctorate in Structural Engineering), Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden.

Hui, L., Sengphet, P., & Phong, B. L. (2019). How to foster innovative culture and capable champions for Chinese firms: An empirical research. Chinese Management Studies, 13(1), 51-69. doi:10.1108/CMS-05-2018-0502

Iranmanesh, M., Zailani, S., Hyun, S. S., Ali, M. H., & Kim, K. (2019). Impact of lean manufacturing practices on firms’ sustainable performance: Lean culture as a moderator. Sustainability, 11(4), 1112. doi:10.3390/su11041112

Isaac, S., & Michael, W. B. (1995). Handbook in research and evaluation: A collection of principles, methods, and strategies useful in the planning, design, and evaluation of studies in education and the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). San Diego, CA: EdITS Publishers.

Jayaraman, K., Teo, L. K., & Keng, L. S. (2012). The perceptions and perspectives of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) practitioners: An empirical study in Malaysia. The TQM Journal, 24(5), 433-446. doi:10.1108/02656711211190873

Jenei, I., Toarniczky, A., Losonci, D., & Imre, N. (2015). Lean organisational culture - development and testing of a measurement tool. European Journal of Cross-Cultural Competence and Management, 3(3-4), 257-278. doi:10.1504/ejccm.2015.071961

Jørgensen, F., Matthiesen, R., Nielsen, J., & Johansen, J. (2007). Lean maturity, lean sustainability. In J. Olhager & F. Persson (Eds.), Advances in Production Management Systems (pp. 371-378). Aalborg, Denmark: IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.

Khaw, S. M., Zailani, S., Iranmanesh, M., & Heidari, S. (2019). Do lean manufacturing practices have negative impact on job satisfaction? International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, 10(1), 257-274. doi:10.1108/IJLSS-11-2016-0072

Lavrakas, P. (2008). Self-administered questionnaire. In P. Lavrakas (Ed.), Encyclopedia of survey research methods (Vol. 1 & 2). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Lotz, G., & Roodt, G. (2014). Values and behaviours that the Lean production philosophy supports. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 31st Pan Pacific Conference, Osaka, JP.

Downloads

Published

21-01-2021

How to Cite

Osman, A. A., Nordin, N., & Abd Rahman, M. F. (2021). Measuring Lean Culture: Designing a Research Instrument. Journal of Modern Manufacturing Systems and Technology, 5(1), 7–17. https://doi.org/10.15282/jmmst.v5i1.5821

Issue

Section

Articles