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Among many fallouts of the global pandemic, firms' supply chains have been severely impacted at the global scale. Such global impact can be mainly attributed to companies' current heavy focus on lean manufacturing, resulting in a lack of preparedness and flexibility, and therefore weakening their supply chain links. At the same time, firms face severe financial distress and constraints if their investments in future risks turn out to be of no value. Facing such dilemmas, many firms are unsure of how to appropriately configure lean and risk management at their operational and supply chain levels. This study aims to understand the various configurations of lean manufacturing and supply chain risk management. Also, this study pays attention to buffer capacity associated with lean and risk management. In a dataset collected from 198 US companies, cluster analyses discover the manufacturers' configurations of the varying emphases on lean management and supply chain management. Our results indicate that firms achieve the highest levels of buffer capacity and firm performance if they implement lean practices and risk management at a higher level than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lean and ergonomics are two disciplines that shared common goals to improve manufacturing production systems. However, there are limited studies that specifically link ergonomics with Lean's 3 M concept of Muda (waste), Muri (overburden), and Mura (inconsistency). The study employed semi-structured interview with 10 experienced practitioners on past lean projects to establish potential linkage between ergonomics and Lean's 3 M. A conceptual framework integrating ergonomics components into the Lean's 3 M components was then generated through group discussion, and validated using Fuzzy Delphi Method analysis. The interviews revealed four themes linking ergonomics to Lean's 3 M: (1) Human energy waste, (2) Uneven workload distribution, (3) Overburden of worker's capacity, and (4) Worker performance affects work performance. A conceptual framework integrating ergonomics components into the Lean's 3 M components was then proposed, which redefines several components of Lean's 3 M from ergonomics perspective. Fuzzy Delphi Method analysis on 12 practitioners showed overall agreement with the content, structure, and applicability of the proposed framework (threshold (d) value ≤0.2, expert consensus ≥75%, and fuzzy score ≥0.5). The findings may provide platform for lean and ergonomics practitioners to communicate and bridge the gaps between the two disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an integrated framework that combines the strengths of three relevant business excellence philosophies: Theory of Constraints, Lean, and Six Sigma (TLS). The integrated framework increases the TLS Orientation of a firm when management employs a unique growth-oriented mindset, adopts global measurements, and implements an integrated continuous improvement methodology. We discuss how a small-to-medium enterprise (a real but disguised manufacturing firm in India) implemented the proposed framework by employing the cognate key concepts and tools in an integrated manner, and improved its business excellence in terms of improved flow, reduced waste, and increased process capability, which, in turn, strengthened its financial performance. We conclude the paper by discussing the limitations of the study (e.g. an application in a small business) and providing future research directions to further develop its underlying theory and validate the proposed TLS orientation construct by means of case studies and questionnaires. Some initial results are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the production planning and control field, assessing the performance of a manufacturing system is a multi-dimensional problem in which neglected dimensions may lead to hidden inefficiencies and missed opportunities for gaining a competitive advantage. In this paper, a new data formalization method is proposed to model a manufacturing system by simultaneously considering value creation and technical, economic, and environmental performance. The proposed method combines the principles of Material Flow Analysis and a new data structure that exploits some characteristics of the Multi-layer Stream Mapping and the Enterprise Input-Output methods to obtain a data-driven approach, typical of Industry 4.0. The proposed method can deal with complex systems and allows to consider also non-value-added activities such as transport and inventories. The implementation of the method and its advantages are shown through a numerical example based on a recycled plastic pipeline manufacturing system. The method shows positive synergies and mutual benefits between sustainable production, lean principles, and data-driven approaches and technologies of Industry 4.0. The method improves the alignment of environmental, technical, economic, and value creation information between operational and strategical levels, removing redundancies in data collection, conditioning, and processing activities, thus reducing partial information, hidden risks and opportunities, and inconsistencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lean supply chain (LSC) is a set of organizations directly linked by upstream and downstream value streams between processes that work collaboratively to reduce costs and waste. Currently, supply chains (SCs) have been put to the test as the world has had to face a series of unprecedented disruptions in demand and supply caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, a detailed study of constructs and multistructural components was carried out to develop a conceptual reference model that merges Industry 4.0 (I4.0) digital technologies with lean manufacturing tools to reduce waste and minimize costs in the lean supply chain planning (LSCP) context. The main theoretical contribution of this conceptual proposal is to establish a structured relation among the lean, agile, sustainable, resilient and flexible paradigms to improve SC performance by implementing I4.0 enabling technologies. The proposed conceptual model, dubbed as LSCP 4.0, is applied and validated with a case study in a large footwear company. It can help decision-makers and researchers to improve the planning and management of digital SC production processes, even with unexpected disruptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lean Manufacturing (LM) is about cultural change at all levels of an organization, which can be seen as the essence of leadership. This study aims to present a list of the main Lean leadership competencies with validated definitions and propose a practical roadmap to Lean leadership development and training. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted to achieve this goal in which the Lean leadership competencies were identified. The Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) approach established the relations among the leadership competencies and result in a structural model that could be used for Lean leadership development. The analysis of leadership competencies' driving power and dependence power was done using the fuzzy Matriced' Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée á un Classement (MICMAC), which improved the reliability of research. This study contributes to Lean leadership literature by proposing a validated roadmap to Lean leader development and training. A structural model was developed that shows the hierarchy among the competencies and indicates the ones that should be prioritized. Besides, the result shows that the main ways to improve a Lean leader are attending to the shop floor and developing self-awareness. Furthermore, a strong synergy among all competencies was observed, reinforcing the fact that Lean must be an endless journey of improvement. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to present the relationship between Lean leadership competencies. In addition, the results may guide the development of new leaders who work in Lean environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lean manufacturing and agile manufacturing have been two prominent manufacturing paradigms over the past decades, with the respective aims of reducing waste to achieve low-cost and being flexible in production processes. Industry 4.0 is transforming traditional manufacturing systems into smart ones. The current competitive market requires manufacturing companies to improve both cost-efficiency and flexibility with the application of Industry 4.0 technologies. This study is the first systematic literature review linking Industry 4.0 with both lean and agile manufacturing. A conceptual framework is proposed concerning their relationships. It shows Industry 4.0 supports both manufacturing systems, and they, in turn, facilitate the implementation of Industry 4.0. The integration of Industry 4.0 with lean manufacturing mainly enhances cost-competitiveness in the performance dimension; with agile manufacturing, it mainly enhances flexibility. The finding implies Industry 4.0 is the enabling technology that allows two manufacturing systems to co-exist while overcoming the trade-off among various competitive objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industry 4.0 represents a new industrial paradigm ignited by disruptive technologies that can transform manufacturing into a cyber-physical system that integrates products, people and processes. However, there is little guidance concerning how to implement and integrate Industry 4.0 technologies by existing lean manufacturing (LM) systems. We select autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) and internet of things (IoT) to develop an action plan that helps managers integrate Industry 4.0 technologies into their manufacturing systems and achieve lean automation. We conducted a case study of a large manufacturing company that introduced AGVs and IoT to automate its lean operations. We used socio-technical systems (STSs) design logic to integrate the two distinct domains (lean and automation) into an action plan that successfully meets six lean automation objectives. The findings demonstrate that AGVs implementation should include three phases: design, integration and continuous improvement. The lean automation objectives are: cost, reusability, reliability, simplicity, compactness, fit, engage and culture. The lean automation plan successfully manages the interactions and interplay between social factors (people and culture), technical factors (infrastructure and technology) and operational factors (routines and processes). The lean automation plan has significant managerial implications helping companies integrate lean philosophy, which is people-centric, with Industry 4.0 technologies, which promote efficiency via automation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineer-to-Order (ETO) companies with subsequent assembly on-site develop and manufacture highly customised goods that must be finally installed at the customer's site under time and budget constraints. Traditional losses are caused by external factors (e.g. frequent changes by the customer) as well as within the supply chain (e.g. assembly errors on-site). Generally, Lean methods can be applied to mitigate these losses, but considering the ETO industry, various implementation barriers exist. Through a systematic literature review, we propose a framework that lists and categorises Lean implementation barriers in: organisation, management, knowledge, culture, finances, customer, and non-context specific ones. Further research should focus on validating the framework with empirical data and investigating if and how new technologies could help overcome these barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of lean manufacturing practices (LMPs) in large-scale enterprises is growing globally. However, its implementation in micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs), particularly in developing countries is still slow. Despite the slow adoption, prior literature has mainly focussed on investigating the motives for the implementation of LMPs in MSMEs. There is an urgent need to investigate both reasons for (RF), i.e. determinants and reason against (RA), i.e. barriers in LMPs adoption. This study attempts to address this gap by utilizing behavioural reasoning theory (BRT) to present a behavioural reasoning perspective of MSME employees on the implementation of LMPs. We investigate the relationships between employee values (VALs), reasons (for and against), attitude (ATT) and behavioural intentions (INTs) towards LMPs implementation. Furthermore, we also analysed the moderating effect of the employee education level on LMPs implementation. The hypotheses are tested through a cross-sectional survey conducted on 299 Indian MSME employees. The analysis is performed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings suggest that the variable RF has a significant positive influence on both ATT and INTs. However, RA shows a significant association (negative) only with the ATT but not with the INTs for adopting LMPs. These results provide new insights to MSME managers, policymakers, governments and consultants for understanding the behaviour of MSME employees towards the adoption of LMPs in their enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction projects are often unique, time-limited and require a high degree of customization by involving a significant number of Engineer-to-Order (ETO) components. Usually, ETO construction supply chains are composed by a fabrication part off-site and the installation part on-site where different supply chains have to be merged. Generally, many problems are identified during construction on-site and often in a late phase when recovering actions cannot be applied anymore. As a result, construction projects frequently face delays and budget overruns. Owing to these considerations, the paper proposes (i) a framework able to identify the losses and causes of ETO construction supply chains and (ii) a novel metric named Overall Construction Productivity (OCP) supporting the quantification of the overall impact of losses and the implementation of improvement actions. The proposed framework and metric were applied and validated in a medium-sized ETO façade supplier company and a hospital construction project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to investigate how effective lean managers are at developing a highly skilled workforce that is trained in lean manufacturing skills. We draw upon upper echelon theory to explore the extent to which inter-firm executive relationships to different stakeholders have moderating effects on the relationship between lean managers and lean manufacturing skills. Our hypotheses are examined using data from a social media platform used by employees working at firms in Toyota's supplier association, together with multivariate regression and endogeneity analysis. We identify that lean managers are associated with a significant increase in the number of workers with lean manufacturing skills. The moderation analysis reveals that inter-firm executive relationships to Toyota and its suppliers have negative and positive moderating effects on the ability of lean managers to develop skilled workers. However, executive relationships to organisations outside the supplier association have no significant moderating effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the extensive research on Continuous Improvement (CI), limited reflection has been reported regarding the managerial factors needed to successfully deploy Kaizen Events (KEs). This study investigates various managerial aspects that affect the implementation of KEs. After conducting a literature review and gathering experts' inputs, the objectives of the study and six research questions were formulated. A survey questionnaire responded by 175 manufacturing organisations was designed and validated. A combined approach of descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA tests were used to analyse the collected data. Besides other 'soft' aspects, the results determine: (1) the drivers and barriers in the pre-implementation stage of KEs; (2) the critical success factors and challenges related to the implementation stage of KEs; (3) the reasons that result in unsuccessful KEs; and (4) the reasons that stop organisations from running KEs. The study provides insights into an under-researched topic by looking at different phases of KEs implementation. The study contributes to the contingency and the RBV theories by offering an understanding of the importance of different contingencies and resources planning for KEs implementation. The findings are beneficial for industrialists who may aim at driving CIs in their organisations through the implementation of KEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at identifying the combination of organisational culture profiles and leadership styles that best support companies implementing lean manufacturing practices. For that, 225 leaders from manufacturing companies at various stages of lean implementation were surveyed. The analytical approach clustered respondents and their respective firms according to prevailing organisational culture, leadership style and level of implementation of lean practices, testing for frequency differences among clusters. This study states that organisational culture profiles are related to leadership styles and lean manufacturing implementation level, suggesting different-from-expected effects of this relationship on lean manufacturing implementation. The study bridges a gap in the literature by exploring how the association between organisational culture and leadership styles occurs in companies that are adopting lean practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to evaluate and monitor the impacts of improvement initiatives in terms of the overall leanness level, it is important to identify right performance metrics to measure the current and desired leanness level. Currently, there is a lack of proper methodology to accurately measure the impact of implementation of lean strategies on overall leanness of an organisation. This paper proposes an effective leanness measurement model using the triangular linguistic fuzzy membership function. The effectiveness of the model was demonstrated by a case study. The leanness value of the organisation before implementing lean was 0.12, which was improved to 0.19 after implementing a lean tool. The optimum leanness value of that organisation was calculated to be 0.64. These leanness values provided a quantitative indication of the impacts of improvement initiatives in terms of the overall leanness level, which was found to be highly beneficial as recognised by the case organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic literature on Lean Manufacturing (LM) is widely available. However, due to its fragmentation, the contribution of LM from practical and academic perspectives is controversial. This paper establishes the practical implications of LM studies carried out worldwide and identifies novel research streams. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of peer-reviewed journal articles was conducted. A total of 403 articles published in 62 journals during 2010–2019 were collected from four major management science publishers. An 'affinity diagram' was applied to organise the data into natural and logical themes. Conceptual frameworks concerning LM practical implications and future research agenda were formulated. Meaningful themes of LM practical implications and future research suggestions were revealed and classified into two categories. In category one pertaining to the internal nature of LM, themes related to the pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation phases of LM were identified. In category two pertaining to the external nature of LM, themes related to the country in which the companies operate, the diverse managerial systems available, and the methodological research approach were identified. The main themes supported in the literature by most references were determined. Finally, respective statements concerning the practical implications of LM and the future research agenda are analytically presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of Lean Manufacturing (LM) philosophies in the 1980s and 1990s revolutionized manufacturing in high volume flow-oriented production processes. In project-oriented industries such as shipbuilding, long lead times, lumpy demand, and dependence on external and often international suppliers have made LM implementation challenging. This paper analyzes lean manufacturing implementation at Estaleiro Atlântico Sul (EAS) a shipyard located in an underdeveloped region in northeastern Brazil. EAS was the recipient of multiple oil tanker contracts from the Brazilian oil company Petrobras, but was unable to meet delivery deadlines and suffered cost overruns until a strong LM culture was introduced. From the EAS case, we make suggestions for a more appropriate lean manufacturing implementation in an emerging economy context. This is especially relevant in those situations associated with special project types of manufacturing initiatives such as shipbuilding, aviation, construction projects and other forms of low volume high complexity and other long-lead time production operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent past, a vibrant debate emerged about talent management and the set of skills and competencies the future employees must possess to meet current and future market needs. Moreover, the lack of engineering students' professional competencies and their inability to correlate and apply the theoretical knowledge they acquire during their studies in practical contexts, when they enter the labour market, lead to an investment in action-oriented learning and experiential learning. In this context, the learning factory concept is being put into practice by universities and companies to equip students and employees with the demanded needs. In this paper, an Industry-University collaboration between Renault company and the University of Valladolid is presented, centred in the development of a learning factory devoted to the learning and practicing of lean manufacturing through a set of training courses offered to engineering students and professionals. The lean factory characteristics as well as the learning process and learning results achieved are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Green & Lean Manufacturing organisational strategy emphasises waste and environmental impact reduction, efficiency increase, quality improvement, and cycle time reduction by eliminating non-value-added activities. Usually, companies adopt the Manufacturing Cycle Efficiency indicator to identify and make improvements to meet Lean Manufacturing requirements. This work proposes an innovative approach based on Multiple Criteria Data Envelopment Analysis to calculate a new indicator, hereby called Value-Added Activities in Manufacturing Processes, to measure the efficiency of productive processes through Green Manufacturing concepts. This new indicator was applied in a company with the purpose of validating and testing it. The Levene's test was used to statistically validate the proposed procedure. As an immediate advantage of this new indicator, it was possible for managers to insert more information, such as incorporating aspects associated with Green Manufacturing, in the calculation of the Manufacturing Cycle Efficiency, making it more consistent and representative of what is happening in practice. Among this additional piece of information on the real processes analysed, it is worth mentioning, for example, the volume of scrap generated, the amount of sales invoicing, the quantity of work in process, and the quantity of finished products in stock. Specialists in Green & Lean Manufacturing, managers of the studied company, validated the results of the new indicator because they observed greater adherence to the practice of these new calculated values, when compared to the traditionally adopted calculations. Also highlighted, are other advantages of the new indicator such as the establishment of an efficiency ranking between the productive processes analysed and the determination of feasible goals to turn processes identified as inefficient into efficient ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article makes a case for the importance of exploring patterns in the relationship between the adoption of lean manufacturing practices and business performance. This relationship has been described as ambiguous, because it has variously appeared to be positive, insignificant, and negative. Accordingly, this article tests this relationship for non-linearity and shows that it follows the S-Curve theory. A survey of manufacturing companies in an industrial cluster in Brazil was undertaken. This region faces infrastructural challenges, such as geographic distance between purchasers and suppliers and a shortage of skilled Labour. Despite the conditions, these companies have significantly improved their operational, financial, and environmental performance through the adoption of lean practices. Thus, this article contributes to the literature on lean manufacturing by: (a) furthering the debate on the relationship between lean practices and business performance, and testing its adherence to the S-curve theory by means of survey research; and (b) simultaneously testing operational, financial and environmental performance as a result of the adoption of lean manufacturing practices. As a consequence of the S-shaped relationship demonstrated, managers need to be aware of the presence of inertial and saturation points in the adoption of lean manufacturing practices, so they can correctly allocate resources for improving the adoption of lean practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this exploratory research was to develop and validate a model to measure the maturity of manufacturing cells that operate according to the lean philosophy. A theoretical model was constructed based on parameters from the literature and information provided by a panel of experts. Using a questionnaire based on this theoretical model, a survey of 101 cell managers was carried out and the data collected were analyzed by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that the maturity of a manufacturing cell can be measured using the three constructs 'Employee Knowledge and Skills', 'Quality and Continuous Improvement' and 'Cell Configuration'. Of these, the second had the greatest impact on cell maturity. The results also show that a fourth construct, 'Leadership, Autonomy and Communication', influences maturity indirectly. These findings may be used by managers of manufacturing cells and by researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental and sustainable VSM are some of the recently most applied methods to integrate Lean and Green aspects of contemporary sustainability efforts. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate, guided by specialists in VSM, the main barriers and drivers for the application of VSM with environmental aspects. To achieve this goal, we conducted a literature review in order to identify the main barriers and drivers in VSM with environmental aspects' application. Thereafter, a survey was conducted with VSM specialists in order to identify, in their opinion, which are the main barriers and drivers to conduct a VSM with environmental aspects' application. Based on this, a descriptive statistical analysis was conducted and next, an in-depth correlation analysis among all pairs of drivers/barriers. The results showed the three most important barriers: (i) the difficulty in capturing all the information of different products in a single VSM; (ii) the difficulty of comparison between Sus-VSM across manufacturing systems in different contexts; and (iii) the lack of some critical information related to environmental aspects (water, energy, solid waste, etc.). With respect to the drivers, it was pointed out: (i) the importance of a well-defined method and ii) mapping methods saving time for users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to provide a framework of factors for succeeding in Lean implementation, in particular in the manufacturing sector. From a literature review, 11 potential factors for a successful Lean implementation were found and tested as hypotheses to develop a multiple linear regression model. The factors were presented as questions in an on-line questionnaire completed by 108 Lean managers and production managers of European manufacturing; the managers could also contribute qualitative notes on the questions to improve our analysis of the data. Findings showed that a successful Lean implementation is connected with the setting of Lean strategies, training people, developing team building and effort, as well as putting in place a performance measurement system and measuring financial and economic results. The first three factors correlated with a catch-all leadership factor. However, other findings showed that empowerment and autonomy of workers were not relevant for Lean implementation. The managers also commented on the financial sustainability of the program, the relationship with ISO 9001 certification and the supply chain involvement. The results of this research, even if subjected to some limitations, contradicted some of the findings of other research and also introduced some novel and unexpected findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competitive landscape, informed consumers and stringent regulations have forced many manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to focus on operational efficiency along with sustainability issues in recent years. While many manufacturing organisations have been taking lean initiatives for the past few years for operational excellence, an impulsive rush to adopt lean without a strategic deployment vision has led to scattered implementation of lean tools and projects without desired success. Many researchers and practitioners prescribe value stream mapping as a foundation for lean transformation initiatives; however, little empirical work is available on the symbiosis of lean and green paradigms to reap maximum benefits. This research, through a systematic methodology and a novel tool called Green Integrated Value Stream Mapping (GIVSM), integrates both paradigms in a case study on a U.K. packaging-manufacturing SME. Applying the GIVSM demonstrates that simultaneous deployment of lean and green paradigms have synergistic effect for improving both operational efficiency and environmental performance. In addition, continuous improvement framework with sustainable procurement is proposed to overcome the lean-green misalignments. This study also provides a guiding reference for practitioners to undertake similar improvement projects and identifies opportunities to expand this academic research on integrated lean-green approach into other industry sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lean Manufacturing (LM) is a well-established system to improve performance of any manufacturing industry by eliminating wastes through globally accepted tools and techniques. Industries are trying to adapt lean principles in order to optimise the resources like people, equipment, material and schedule for being efficient in the competitive market. This paper proposes an integrated approach for selecting appropriate lean tools in reliable lean perspective to enhance these critical resources. The approach exercise a hybrid model which uses fuzzy QFD to prioritise the critical resources in relation with identified wastes and fuzzy FMEA to assess the risk associated with each sub elements to address lean implementation. For waste identification, plant layout and Value Stream Mapping are considered. The model is demonstrated based on the data collected from a manufacturing industry to illustrate the application. Significant improvements are quantified with the help of future state map and plant layout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In deciding to adopt lean manufacturing, it is imperative to investigate where and how lean practices are most needed to influence manufacturing and business performance. Such an investigation becomes indispensable when lean thinking is to be considered in a production arrangement different to the conventional, repetitive, high-volume, stable-demand and discrete-manufacturing environment. This study provides explanations of how performance is improved through the adoption of lean practices in process industries. This is a relatively under-researched area compared to the performance effects associated with the introduction and implementation of lean principles in traditional, discrete manufacturing. Based on a survey of Indian process industries, this study attempts to develop an empirical relationship between lean practices and performance improvement through the use of multivariate statistical analysis. The findings have led to the conclusion that lean practices are positively associated with timely deliveries, productivity, first-pass yield, elimination of waste, reduction in inventory, reduction in costs, reduction in defects and improved demand management. However, within a process-industry context, lean practices related to pull production were found to have a marginal impact on performance improvement. A detailed discussion of the findings along with their theoretical and managerial implications is provided in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Traditional models examining relationships between firm resources and revenues assume that the many expenses and asset holdings change in proportion to changes in demand. However, research has found that for many costs and assets assumed to be variable, the magnitude of a change in a cost or asset in proportion to a change in revenue is smaller during periods when revenue decreases compared to the change in the cost or asset when revenue increases. Costs and assets which behave in this manner have been denoted as ‘sticky’ costs or assets. This study examines if inventory in the manufacturing industry is managed in a ‘sticky’ manner and what implications inventory stickiness has on firm performance. Utilising firm panel data over a 25-year time window we find that inventory stickiness does exist amongst manufacturers and that it has negative implications for firm performance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although a lean focus is widely popular in general manufacturing environments, there are limited studies that empirically investigate how lean improvement programmes can be integrated with a material requirement planning (MRP) system. The aim of this research is to examine if the integration of lean improvement programmes with a MRP system has a positive effect on operational effectiveness when manufacturers are experiencing high levels of customer demand variability. Based on the contingency theory perspective and using data collected from the international manufacturing strategy survey (IMSS-V), a sample of 382 international manufacturing companies are first divided into two groups based on the degree of their customer demand fluctuation. Moderated hierarchical regression is then applied to each group to empirically test the research hypotheses. Statistical results suggest that operational effectiveness significantly improves when lean improvement programmes support MRP systems as manufacturers are experiencing high levels of fluctuations in demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]