Learning organisation and lean production: an empirical research on their relationship

Abstract

This study aims at identifying the pairwise relationship between specific sets of Lean Production (LP) practices and Learning Organisation (LO) dimensions. More specifically, the association between 10 LP operational constructs and seven LO dimensions, based upon previous literature, is empirically examined. A survey-based study was carried out with 135 companies undergoing a LP implementation. The study sample was categorised according to two control variables: type of organisation and company’s LP implementation experience. Collected data was analysed through multivariate techniques. Results indicate that LP implementation and LO development are highly correlated. Additionally, findings also show that the extent of relationships varies according to the context, allowing the identification of synergistic associations and conflicting ones. The identification of these relationships provides means to better comprehend how the implementation of specific LP practices corroborates to enhancing LO capabilities within the organisation and vice-versa.

Keywords:

• Lean manufacturing
• empirical study
• lean production
• learning organisation
• multivariate data analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico.