Assessing lean implementation and benefits within Indian automotive component manufacturing SMEs

Lean leadership: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose

The present research aims to understand how the literature on lean leadership is currently structured. For this, the thematic subdivisions within the subject (thematic clusters) are analyzed as well as the networks between authors and the authors' countries and the chronological co-occurrence of terms over the years.

Design/methodology/approach

The research strategy chosen was a bibliometric analysis conducted with documents collected from the Scopus scientific database. After screening, 192 documents were analyzed using the Vosviewer software.

Findings

The main result is related to identifying four thematic clusters. The first cluster is connected to the manufacturing and supply chain industry, and this showed an increasing concern with sustainability, agile manufacturing and digitalization. The second is related to small and medium-sized companies in which Lean concepts, often associated with Six Sigma ideas, present as differentials for competitive advantage. The third one is associated with the civil construction segment, in which there is a great need for cultural and organizational change. The fourth cluster focuses on health organizations. In all clusters, leadership plays a key role.

Practical implications

Besides the contributions to the literature on the theme, this study provides interesting insights for managers regarding the path the managers' sectors are taking in the Lean leadership context.

Originality/value

There are no studies that critically examine Lean leadership literature. This research identifies clusters on the theme, showing how Lean leadership is being addressed by international research.

The influence of the quality criteria on the quality cost of suppliers in SMEs

Purpose

After quality costing, most companies do not know how to invest in supplier quality improvement. This study aims to develop a comprehensive model for the effect of supplier quality criteria on supplier quality costs.

Design/methodology/approach

The independent variable of supplier quality criteria and the dependent variable of supplier quality costs have been identified based on a literature review. Then a model has been developed for the effect of the variables. A questionnaire has been designed and distributed to 158 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Jey Industrial Town located in the Isfahan Province. Structural equation modeling and partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) have been used for data analysis.

Findings

Supplier quality criteria influenced supplier quality costs (with a value of 0.711). The results also implied that organizational quality had the highest impact. The appraisal costs and the internal failure costs of purchasing received most of the influence. Also, process quality and consequential costs of failure purchasing had the lowest influencing and influenced values.

Practical implications

The findings of this research encourage the managers of SMEs to evaluate and rank the most appropriate quality criteria related to quality costs for selecting a supplier as one of the most fundamental decisions in supply chain management.

Social implications

Appropriate selection of quality criteria influencing quality costs results in reduced quality cost. Quality cost reduction also results in decreased products' fixed prices. Ultimately, the company will have more competitive pricing, and consumers will benefit from such a significant advantage.

Originality/value

Studying the influence of supplier quality criteria on supplier quality costs is relatively new in the manufacturing industry. The comprehensiveness of the investigated variables is also another advantage of the proposed model.

Transforming product development and production to be lean for improving business performance

Purpose

In this study, the authors assess the current state of lean product development and the lean production shop floor, along with the impact of the former on process quality and the latter on product quality and customer complaint reduction. The interplay between process and product quality and customer complaint reduction is assessed, along with their impacts on business performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 377 managers working at auto-component manufacturing firms in India. Confirmatory factor analysis was used for scale validation, and structural equation modelling was employed to test the research hypotheses.

Findings

The results of the statistical analyses reveal the positive influence of a lean production shop floor on process quality and lean product development on product quality and customer complaint reduction, and thereby on business performance.

Practical implications

The findings of this research provide insights into the interplay between lean and quality factors and their influence on customer complaint reduction and business performance. Practitioners can use the proposed model to strategically design unique products and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the production shop floor, which can help enhance the product and process quality. This can reduce customer dissatisfaction and improve the business performance.

Originality/value

Few studies have simultaneously investigated the influence of lean product development and lean production shop floors in the Indian manufacturing context. To the best of our knowledge, this study is one of the first attempts to include customer complaint reduction as a construct in a lean model. It helps identify and prioritise the enablers of business performance and provides valuable insights for practitioners to strengthen lean implementation to attain a competitive edge.

Framework for zero-defect manufacturing in Indian industries – Voice of the customer

Purpose

The present paper proposes a framework for zero-defect manufacturing in Indian industries. Due to the current competitive market, there is a strong need to achieve zero defects from the customer's perspective. A survey questionnaire is analyzed based on the responses and a structured framework is drafted to implement zero defect manufacturing in the Indian industry.

Design/methodology/approach

To analyze zero-defect in Indian industries, a literature review and a survey questionnaire constituted a framework. This framework is independent of the type of process and product.

Findings

The findings of this study are based on a total of 925 responses received through survey questionnaires by different mediums. The framework has been tested in different manufacturing organizations to achieve zero-defect through the continuous improvement approach.

Practical implications

The study results aim to achieve zero-defect, help to improve customer satisfaction, reduce waste and rework in the manufacturing process. This framework is also used as a problem-solving approach to implement Six Sigma in the Indian industries.

Originality/value

Zero defect manufacturing is growing in India and globally. This framework helps to implement zero defect manufacturing in Indian industries. It is an essential tool to capture the voice of the customer.

Lean and its impact on sustainability performance in service companies: results from a pilot study

Purpose

The purpose of this empirical research is to understand the application of Lean practices (technical and social) and tools in the service sector, whose implementation is less studied, despite its economic relevance. The study aims to extend previous studies that focused on the relationship between Lean and operational and financial performance, and analyzing the impact on sustainability, encompassing economic, social and environmental perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach

A pilot survey was conducted with Lean experts in European service companies. The authors have utilized various professional contacts on LinkedIn and a satisfactory response rate was obtained for analysis.

Findings

The results of the study showed that there are several motivating factors for the implementation of Lean, the highlights being improving customer satisfaction, efficiency, delivery and cost reduction. The most frequently used Lean tools are related to the identification of improvement opportunities and causes of problems. The pilot survey also made it possible to identify the greater use of technical practices than social practices. The sustainability performance analysis showed that the better performance of service companies is in the economic dimension.

Originality/value

The authors have identified no empirical studies linking Lean and sustainable performance in the service sector. This study bridges this cognitive gap through a pilot study and therefore makes an original contribution to the current literature.

Exploring human resource work design, learning mechanism and TQM: through the lens of activity theory and contextual learning theory

Purpose

This research examines the effects of the context on the relationship between work design, learning mechanism and total quality management (TQM). The exploratory study examines the differential effects in context on how human resources and their activities are strategically managed for achieving TQM. Two theoretical frameworks – activity theory and contextual learning theory – are concurrently used for analysis. Specifically, the manufacturing companies, the authors examine are (1) technology-intensive company which has bought technology from a global foreign establishment (MU1), (2) technology-intensive companies having their own technology (MU2) and (3) labor-intensive units (MU3) of varying organizational sizes.

Design/methodology/approach

This case study-based research consists of 27 in-depth interviews with managers and employees of different hierarchies in each manufacturing unit. The authors interviewed them using semi-structured questions that were pre-validated by five senior HR experts from the manufacturing industry. Document analysis, multiple site visits and website content helped triangulation. The data are coded and analyzed using Dedoose software for qualitative research.

Findings

Activity diagrams for each manufacturing unit provides task and interaction analysis. Within and cross-case analysis address complexity and challenges of contextual reality, influences on work design and learning mechanism. HRD executives must recognize that there may be well-differentiated learning behaviors that align with organizational strategy. The learning behaviors may not be well-differentiated and become very dynamic. This dynamism may be characterized by double loop and single-loop learning feeding into each other.

Practical implications

This study provides substantial practical implications for HRD and other managers in the manufacturing sector.

Originality/value

The new theoretical framework adds to organizational behavior studies through multi-level and cross-contextual approach. It informs strategic combinations and interactions between internal and external context, and learning needs implicating work design and TQM.

Country-related future research agenda of Lean Manufacturing–A systematic literature review

Purpose

Many future research proposals of Lean Manufacturing (LM) are presented in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to determine these future research proposals of LM which are country-related and classify them.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review (SLR) of peer-reviewed journal articles in LM was conducted. A total of 145 articles published in 34 journals during 2010–2020 were collected from four major management science publishers namely, Emerald Online, Elsevier/Science Direct, Springer Link and Taylor and Francis. The country-related future research proposals of LM identified in the literature were classified according to, firstly, the continent of the country of reference, and secondly, some form of natural affinity of these proposals creating meaningful themes. The quality tool “affinity diagram” was applied to classify the country-related future research proposals of LM.

Findings

The country-related future research proposals of LM, which are increasing in the literature over time, refer mostly to studies to be conducted in several continents/countries and to multinational studies. Conducting studies specifically in Asia, Europe, South and North America, Africa and Australia–New Zealand is also suggested. The plethora of the country-related future research proposals of LM were classified, based on the affinity of their content, into 18 meaningful themes. These themes were also classified based on their affinity into two broad categories, namely “themes concerning the LM approach itself” and “themes concerning factors outside the LM approach”.

Research limitations/implications

The restricted number of the databases searched and the subjectivity of classifying the large number of the country-related future research proposals into themes are the main limitations of the present SLR. Based on these limitations, future literature review studies can be carried out.

Practical implications

Useful proposals are provided to researchers of several countries for conducting original and country-specific research studies which can enrich the knowledge of the implementation of LM under the specific circumstances of a country for the benefit of practitioners.

Originality/value

This study goes beyond previous literature review studies on LM by focusing exclusively on the LM future research agenda which is country related. The analytical presentation of the country-related future research proposals as well as the formulation of clusters of these proposals make the present SLR study substantially different from those carried out worldwide so far.

Proposing a Supply Chain Collaboration Framework for Synchronous Flow Implementation in the Automotive Industry: A Moroccan Case Study

The present paper reports on studying synchronous flow implementation, as a lean supply chain tools, through a collaborative relationship with suppliers. This involves consolidating with a new contribution to the development and application of a supply chain collaboration framework between automotive constructor and first-tier equipment suppliers to achieve the synchronous flow of components. The objective is to provide the automotive companies with a decision-making tool for selecting strategic suppliers to collaborate with, examining the collaboration context in terms of motivators, drivers, and barriers and evaluating the collaboration performance. Therefore, our contribution is structured as follows. As a first step, an overview of papers reporting on collaboration, lean supply chain, and synchronous flow is provided to identify the key elements of successful collaboration relationships. As a result, a preliminary framework is elaborated. The second step described the case study of a leading automotive firm “RENAULT” and its suppliers in Morocco. Based on semi-structured interviews conducted with participants from these companies, the preliminary framework was improved. The next section discusses the obtained results as well as the improved framework. Finally, conclusions and suggestions for further works are included.