Practical implications and future research agenda of lean manufacturing: a systematic literature review

Abstract

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.

Keywords:

• Lean manufacturing
• systematic literature review
• practical implications
• future research agenda

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jiju Antony

Jiju Antony is recognised worldwide as a leader in Lean Six Sigma methodology for achieving and sustaining process excellence.  He is a Professor of Quality Management in the Department of Business Management at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society (UK), Fellow of the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI), Fellow of the Institute of Operations Management (FIOM), Fellow of the American Society of Quality (FASQ), Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and a Fellow of the Institute of the Six Sigma Professionals (ISSP). He is an Academician of the International Academy of Quality. Professor Antony has authored over 400 journal, conference and white papers and 10 text books of which 5 are related to Lean Six Sigma.  He has published over 250 papers on Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma topics and is considered to be one of the highest in the world for the number of Six Sigma publications. He has an h-index of 78 according to Google Scholar with total citations exceeding 23,000. He is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and has trained over 1200 people as Lean Six Sigma Yellow, Green and Black Belts from over 20 countries representing over 175 organisations in the last 14 years. 

Evangelos Psomas

Evangelos Psomas is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Business Administration of Food and Agricultural Enterprises at the University of Patras, Greece and the Hellenic Open University. He holds an MSc degree in Quality Assurance and a PhD degree in Total Quality Management. His research interests include: Total Quality Management, Quality Assurance, Statistical Process Control, Quality Tools and Techniques, Lean – Six Sigma, Food Safety Management, Human Resource Management, Supply Chain Management, Agribusiness and Food Marketing. His scientific work includes: 45 papers published in peer-reviewed international journals, two of which have been selected by the editorial team of "The TQM Journal" as Highly Commended Papers (2011, 2014). He has also received the award for Outstanding Reviewer from “The TQM Journal” (Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence – 2014, 2019) and the International Journal of Lean Six Sigma (Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence – 2015, 2017).

Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes

Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes is a Professor of Operations Management and Head of the Centre for Supply Chain Improvement at the University of Derby, UK. He is actively involved in industrial projects where he combines his knowledge, expertise and industrial experience in operations management to help organizations achieve excellence in their internal functions and supply chains. He has also led and managed international research projects funded by the British Academy, British Council, European Commission and Mexico’s National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT). As a leading academic, he has published over 150 articles in leading scientific journals, international conferences and six books. Prof. Garza-Reyes is Associate Editor of the International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Associate Editor of the Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Editor of the International Journal of Supply Chain and Operations Resilience and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management. Areas of expertise and interest for Professor Garza-Reyes include general aspects of operations and manufacturing management, business excellence, quality improvement, and performance measurement.

Peter Hines

Peter Hines is the Co-Founder of the Lean Enterprise Research Centre at Cardiff Business School. He holds a BA (MA) in geography from Cambridge University and an MBA and PhD from the University of Cardiff. Peter followed a successful career in distribution and manufacturing industry before joining Cardiff Business School in 1992. Since that time, he initially led the Materials Management Unit and then chaired the Lean Enterprise Research Centre within Cardiff Business School. He has written or co-written several books including “Creating World Class Suppliers” published by Pitman in 1994, “The Lean Enterprise” published by AMACOM in 1997, “Value Stream Management” published by Financial Times Prentice Hall in 2000, “Staying Lean” first published in 2008 (Shingo Research Award winner, 2009) and Creating a Lean & Green Business System in 2013 (Shingo Research Award winner, 2014). Peter is the founder of S A Partners, a specialist consultancy organization that assists companies to apply Lean. He also continues his academic links and is a Visiting Professor at Waterford Institute of Technology, Senior Certified Facilitator with The Shingo Institute at Utah State University and visiting roles in Universities across Europe and North America.