Prioritization of Six-Sigma project selection

Prioritising enabling factors of Internet of things (IoT) adoption in digital supply chain

Purpose

This paper explores the role of Internet of things (IoT) enabling factors in adopting digital supply chain.

Design/methodology/approach

Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was used to rank performance measures and prioritise the enabling factors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to validate and support key research findings from the AHP analysis.

Findings

The results show that level of customer demand is the most important indicator in adopting IoT while the level of product/process flexibility is the least important. System integration and IoT infrastructure are the top two enabling factors in increasing the level of process stability, supply chain connectivity, and product/process flexibility, respectively. Furthermore, the study suggests that the enabling factors for IoT adoption are directly connected with organisational resources/technological capabilities that support the resource-based view theory. This research identified interdependencies between IoT enabling factors and key performance measures for IoT adoption success in managing the digital supply chain.

Practical implications

Supply chain managers can use the empirical findings of this study to prioritise IoT adoption, based on the relative importance of enabling factors and performance measures. The research findings are focused on broader supply chain practices of large companies rather than a specific industry and SMEs. Hence, any industry-specific adoption factors and SMEs were not evident from this study.

Originality/value

This research study empirically established priorities of enabling factors for IoT adoption, along with inter-dependencies among enabling factors as a basis for developing guidelines for IoT adoption.

Exploration of Lean Management Methods Used in Shared Services Centers, Drivers and Barriers to Process Selection for Improvements in the Light of Risk Management and ESG Reporting

This paper aims to study how processes are selected for improvements in shared services centers (SSCs), and if the risk management aspect is considered during process improvements. Lean management has become a highly regarded platform for process improvement within organizations with the focus being on waste reduction and value added at the customer level. As a leading destination of SSCs, Poland has been seen implementing this approach since at least 2015 with the main benefit being cost reduction. This philosophy opens the door to identifying potential waste reduction and ongoing efficiencies of processes that have been migrated to SSCs. With the identification of the research need, firstly, a targeted literature review on tools and models of process selection for improvements was performed. The second step entails in-depth interviews with lean management experts, surveys with detailed questions in the area of lean management implementation, and finally a case study on measurements of testing the effectiveness of applying lean management methodology. The findings present drivers and barriers to selecting of processes subject to lean management. Although lean management activities are strongly supported by risk management experts, there is no synergy between the two streams causing the need for further research in SSCs.

How do organizations implement an effective LSS initiative? A qualitative study

Purpose

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is one of the most popular and widely used business improvement methodologies. However, many organizations discontinue LSS despite a plethora of studies on the critical success factors. The purpose of this study is to answer the research question how do organizations implement an effective LSS initiative?

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative study is conducted on managers working in companies using LSS for a long time. The data were analysed using Colaizzi method.

Findings

Twelve factors were identified which were responsible for the effective implementation of LSS. They are financial performance, organization-wide LSS culture, organization-wide innovation culture, continuous training and retraining of employees on LSS, continuous top management support, linking LSS to business strategy, linking LSS to the customer, project selection strategy, communication, recognition and compensation systems, social benefits and green benefits.

Originality/value

This is the first study to investigate the effective implementation of LSS initiative in the organization.

A study into the reasons for process improvement project failures: results from a pilot survey

Purpose

Process improvement initiatives, such as Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma, typically have common characteristics that are carried through projects. Whilst a project’s performance is an important determinant of the successful implementation of continuous improvement (CI) initiatives, its failure can undermine the impact of any CI initiative on business performance. As a result, an understanding of the reasons of process improvement project failures is crucial. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a pilot survey highlighting the most common reasons for process improvement project failures.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a pilot survey of 42 Brazilian manufacturing specialists who have been involved in process improvement projects. The participants of this survey were Six Sigma Master Black Belts, Black Belts, Green Belts and Six Sigma champions from manufacturing companies in Brazil. The survey questionnaire was piloted with five experts in the field in order to ensure that the questions were valid and technically sound.

Findings

The execution of Six Sigma projects in organizations results in a moderate rate of project failures. These failures can cost organizations several millions of dollars especially within the context of larger organizations. The main reasons for project failure, as cited by the specialists include: resistance to change, lack of commitment and support from top management and incompetent teams.

Research limitations/implications

The authors report the findings from a pilot survey having a limited sample size. Moreover, the data have been collected from one country and primarily from large manufacturing companies.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study looking into the reasons for process improvement project failures. The authors argue that if the top reasons for such failures are understood, a framework can be developed in the future that can mitigate the chance of project failures during project execution. This could potentially lead to significant savings to the bottom-line of many organizations.

Empirical analysis of Six Sigma project capability deficiency and its impact on project success

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the deficiencies in Six Sigma project capability and empirically validating its impact on project success.

Design/methodology/approach

Deficiencies are identified from literature focusing on Six Sigma challenges or barriers. The study used a survey approach by circulating questionnaires to 400 Six Sigma professionals from 40 multinational organisations. The conceptual model is composed of 16 items measuring five constructs for hypothesis testing. Furthermore, structural equation modelling was used to identify the relationship between Six Sigma project capability deficiency and project success.

Findings

The findings of the study suggest that inadequate top management support, inadequate resources and change management and inadequate quality maturity form Six Sigma project capability deficiency and affect project success.

Research limitations/implications

The study uses resource-based view to understand the deficiencies in Six Sigma project capability and their impact on project success. The study confirms that organisational capabilities in implementing Six Sigma affect the success of the projects.

Practical implications

The results of this study reveal that inadequate top management support, inadequate quality maturity of the organisation and inadequate resources and change management result into a deficiency in Six Sigma project capability. Quality managers in manufacturing and service organisations should attempt to improve these capabilities to achieve competitive advantage.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the literature by exploring the capability outlook of Six Sigma. The study attempts to fill the gap in Six Sigma literature by providing a structural model for understanding Six Sigma project capability deficiency and its impact on Six Sigma project success.

V, R. R. Critical success factors of TQM, Six Sigma, Lean and Lean Six Sigma

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on the critical success factors (CSFs) of various continuous improvement (CI) like total quality management (TQM), Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma (LSS), and perform a content analysis (CA) leading to an agenda for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

CA is based on literature review of 41 papers published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals. A four-stage methodology is used by the authors, with Stage 1 featuring relevant material collection; Stage 2 presenting a descriptive analysis; Stage 3 outlining the category selection; and Stage 4 featuring the material evaluation using clustering and Pareto analysis.

Findings

The CA revealed various research implications and directions for the future. The number of studies in the literature regarding CSF assessment is found to be far from substantial while compared to CI implementation. Assessment methodologies developed have been ranging from qualitative to quantitative models. Key gaps were identified and directions for CSF assessment are proposed which requires further validation.

Research limitations/implications

Only articles that appeared in peer-reviewed journals were analyzed; conference papers, reports, manuals and white papers from practice were excluded. Another limitation of the paper would be the scope of CA limited to four CI constructs – TQM, Lean, Six Sigma and LSS. Research implications indicate that the future studies in this domain would be intensive toward analyzing the vital CSFs for enterprise organizational excellence and not merely process excellence.

Practical implications

This review study can serve as a resource for both researchers and practitioners to understand the importance of CSFs and positioning CSFs for the successful implementation of CI programs.

Originality/value

The CA on the existing literature on CSFs for CI presents a unique, systematic effort to identify an agenda for future research. This study is the apparently the first of its kind on CSF assessment.