Researching Lean: Methodological Implications of Loose Definitions
Article Sidebar
Issue
Vol. 16 No. 2 (2012)
Submitted
19 November 2012
Published
18 December 2012
Keywords:
-
Validity, mediating factors, contextual factors, Lean impact, study design
Abstract
Recently, Lean Production (Lean) has become a prevailing management concept in Sweden. However, previous research seems to show that the Lean concept and the impact of Lean vary considerably between organizations.
This paper illustrates some key methodological issues that need to be considered when researching loosely defined management concepts such as Lean. The paper is based on a review of the literature and five comparative Swedish cases studies.
Our study indicates that Lean has changed over time and that operationalization and interpretations of the concept vary considerably.
This study concludes that future Lean studies should include a thorough assessment of the Lean interventions, study settings, and in particular non-Lean factors mediating the outcomes of Lean-inspired change programs.
This paper illustrates some key methodological issues that need to be considered when researching loosely defined management concepts such as Lean. The paper is based on a review of the literature and five comparative Swedish cases studies.
Our study indicates that Lean has changed over time and that operationalization and interpretations of the concept vary considerably.
This study concludes that future Lean studies should include a thorough assessment of the Lean interventions, study settings, and in particular non-Lean factors mediating the outcomes of Lean-inspired change programs.
References
ABRAHAMSON, E. 1996. Management Fashion. The Academy of Management Review, 21, 254-285.
ABRAHAMSSON, L. 2002. Restoring the order: gender segregation as an obstacle to organisational development. Applied Ergonomics, 33, 549-557.
ABRAHAMSSON, L. 2009. Att återställa ordningen: könsmönster och förändring i arbetsorganisationer, Umeå, Borea.
ALVESSON, M., SVENINGSSON, S. & TORHELL, S.-E. 2008. Förändringsarbete i organisationer: om att utveckla företagskulturer, Malmö, Liber.
ARLBJØRN, J. S., FREYTAG, P. V. & DE HAAS, H. 2011. Service supply chain management: A survey of lean application in the municipal sector. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 41, 277-295.
BARLEY, S., R & KUNDA, G. 1992. Design and Devotion: Surges of Rational and Normative Ideologies of Control in Managerial Discourse. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37, 363-399.
BENDERS, J. & VAN VEEN, K. 2001. What's in a Fashion? Interpretative Viability and Management Fashions. Organization, 8, 33-53.
BERGGREN, C. 1993. Lean Production — The End of History? Work, Employment & Society, 7, 163-188.
BRUNO, R. & JORDAN, L. 2002. Lean Production and the Discourse of Dissent. Working USA, 6, 108-134.
BRUNSSON, N. 2009. Reform as routine : organizational change and stability in the modern world, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
BRÄNNMARK, M. 2010. Implementering av Lean i medelstora företag - En lärande utvärdering om hållbar utveckling. In: HELIX Working Papers. Linköping University. Retrieved from http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:460012/FULLTEXT01
BRÄNNMARK, M. 2012. Lean i kommuner och myndigheter - en översikt över existerande empirisk forskningslitteratur. In, 2012 Stockholm. Innovationsrådet, 1-65. Retrieved from http://www.innovationsradet.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Forskningsoversikt-lean.pdf
BRÄNNMARK, M. & EKLUND, J. forthcoming. Lean-inspirerade förändringsprogram och personalens upplevelser av dessa. In: SEDERBLAD, P. (ed.) Japanska Produktionssystem och Lean Production Liber: Stockholm.
BRÄNNMARK, M., EKLUND, J., HÅKANSSON, M. & VOGEL, K. 2012. Belastningsergonomiska studier utifrån ett produktions- och systemperspektiv – interventioner, verksamhetseffekter och konsekvenser. In, 2012 Stockholm. Arbetsmiljöverket. Retrieved from http://www.av.se/dokument/aktuellt/kunskapsoversikt/RAP2012_01.pdf
BRÄNNMARK, M., HALVARSSON, A. & LINDSKOG, P. 2011. Implementing Lean in Swedish Municipalities and Hospitals - Initial effects on the work system. In: Forum för arbetslivsforsknings konferens (FALF2011): Det nya arbetslivet, 2011 Luleå, Sweden. Retrieved from http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:460019/FULLTEXT01
BÖRNFELT, P.-A. 2006. Förändringskompetens på industrigolvet: kontinuerligt förändringsarbete i gränslandet mellan lean production och socioteknisk arbetsorganisation. Doctoral thesis, Institutionen för arbetsvetenskap Göteborgs universitet; Arbetslivsinstitutet. Retrieved from https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/2077/4379/1/ah2006_01.pdf.
DAHLGAARD, J., J & DAHLGAARD-PARK, S. M. 2006. Lean production, six sigma quality, TQM and company culture. The TQM Magazine, 18, 263-281.
FULLERTON, R. R., MCWATTERS, C. S. & FAWSON, C. 2003. An examination of the relationships between JIT and financial performance. Journal of Operations Management, 21, 383-404.
GENAIDY, A. M. & KARWOWSKI, W. 2003. Human performance in lean production environment: Critical assessment and research framework. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries, 13, 317-330.
GIROUX, H. 2006. ‘It Was Such a Handy Term’: Management Fashions and Pragmatic Ambiguity*. Journal of management studies, 43, 1227-1260.
GOLHAR, D. Y. & STAMM, C. L. 1991. The just-in-time philosophy: A literature review. International Journal of Production Research, 29, 657 - 676.
HAMPSON, I. 1999. Lean Production and the Toyota Production System Or, the Case of the Forgotten Production Concepts. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 20, 369-391.
HASLE, P., BOJESEN, A., JENSEN, P. L. & BRAMMING, P. 2012. Lean and the working environment – a review of the literature. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 32.
HINES, P., HOLWEG, M. & RICH, N. 2004. Learning to evolve: A review of contemporary lean thinking. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 24, 994-1011.
IF METALL. 2010. Hållbart arbete – en plattform för utveckling av arbetsorganisationen. Retrieved from: http://www.ifmetall.se/ifmetall/home/resources.nsf/vRes/if_metall_1299580918718_hallbart_arbete_webb_pdf/$File/H%C3%A5llbart%20arbete_webb.pdf
JOHANSSON, J. & ABRAHAMSSON, L. 2009. The good work - A Swedish trade union vision in the shadow of lean production. Applied Ergonomics, 40, 775-780.
JOHANSSON, S. forthcoming. Svenska fackföreningarna och lean - ett tudelat förhållande. In: SEDERBLAD, P. (ed.) Japanska Produktionssystem och Lean Production. Stockholm: Liber.
KIESER, A. 1997. Rhetoric and Myth in Management Fashion. Organization, 4, 49-74.
LANDSBERGIS, P. A., CAHILL, J. & SCHNALL, P. 1999. The impact of lean production and related new systems of work organization on worker health. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 4, 108-30.
LANGSTRAND, J. 2012. Exploring organizational translation : a case study of changes toward Lean Production. Doctoral thesis, Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University. Retrieved from: http://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:503206/FULLTEXT03
LANGSTRAND, J. & ELG, M. 2012. Non-human resistance in changes towards Lean. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 25, 853-866.
LIKER, J. K. 2004. The Toyota way: 14 management principles from the world's greatest manufacturer, New York, McGraw-Hill.
MAZZOCATO, P., SAVAGE, C., BROMMELS, M., ARONSSON, H. & THOR, J. 2010. Lean thinking in healthcare: a realist review of the literature. Qual Saf Health Care, 19, 376-382.
PETTERSEN, J. 2009. Defining Lean Production – some conceptual and practical issues. The TQM Journal, 21, 127 - 142.
POKSINSKA, B. 2010. The Current State of Lean Implementation in Health Care: Literature Review. Quality Management in Healthcare, 19, 319-329.
RØVIK, K. A. 2000. Moderna organisationer: trender inom organisationstänkandet vid millennieskiftet, Malmö, Liber.
SALAR. 2012. Lean - Motiv, initiativ, implementering och resultat. In, 2012. Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, 1-27. Retrieved from: http://brs.skl.se/brsbibl/kata_documents/doc40182_1.pdf
SHAH, R. & WARD, P. T. 2003. Lean manufacturing: context, practice bundles, and performance. Journal of Operations Management, 21, 129-149.
SHAH, R. & WARD, P. T. 2007. Defining and developing measures of lean production. Journal of Operations Management, 25, 785-805.
WESTGAARD, R. H. & WINKEL, J. 2011. Occupational musculoskeletal and mental health: Significance of rationalization and opportunities to create sustainable production systems - A systematic review. Applied Ergonomics, 42, 261-296.
WINTER, M., SMITH, C., MORRIS, P. & CICMIL, S. 2006. Directions for future research in project management: The main findings of a UK government-funded research network. International Journal of Project Management, 24, 638-649.
WOMACK, J. & JONES, D. 2003. Lean thinking: banish waste and create wealth in your corporation, London, Free Press Business.
WOMACK, J., P., JONES, D., T. & ROOS, D. 1991. The machine that changed the world : The story of lean production, New York, Harper Perennial.
YIN, R. K. 1993. Applications of case study research, Newbury Park, Calif., Sage.
ABRAHAMSSON, L. 2002. Restoring the order: gender segregation as an obstacle to organisational development. Applied Ergonomics, 33, 549-557.
ABRAHAMSSON, L. 2009. Att återställa ordningen: könsmönster och förändring i arbetsorganisationer, Umeå, Borea.
ALVESSON, M., SVENINGSSON, S. & TORHELL, S.-E. 2008. Förändringsarbete i organisationer: om att utveckla företagskulturer, Malmö, Liber.
ARLBJØRN, J. S., FREYTAG, P. V. & DE HAAS, H. 2011. Service supply chain management: A survey of lean application in the municipal sector. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 41, 277-295.
BARLEY, S., R & KUNDA, G. 1992. Design and Devotion: Surges of Rational and Normative Ideologies of Control in Managerial Discourse. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37, 363-399.
BENDERS, J. & VAN VEEN, K. 2001. What's in a Fashion? Interpretative Viability and Management Fashions. Organization, 8, 33-53.
BERGGREN, C. 1993. Lean Production — The End of History? Work, Employment & Society, 7, 163-188.
BRUNO, R. & JORDAN, L. 2002. Lean Production and the Discourse of Dissent. Working USA, 6, 108-134.
BRUNSSON, N. 2009. Reform as routine : organizational change and stability in the modern world, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
BRÄNNMARK, M. 2010. Implementering av Lean i medelstora företag - En lärande utvärdering om hållbar utveckling. In: HELIX Working Papers. Linköping University. Retrieved from http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:460012/FULLTEXT01
BRÄNNMARK, M. 2012. Lean i kommuner och myndigheter - en översikt över existerande empirisk forskningslitteratur. In, 2012 Stockholm. Innovationsrådet, 1-65. Retrieved from http://www.innovationsradet.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Forskningsoversikt-lean.pdf
BRÄNNMARK, M. & EKLUND, J. forthcoming. Lean-inspirerade förändringsprogram och personalens upplevelser av dessa. In: SEDERBLAD, P. (ed.) Japanska Produktionssystem och Lean Production Liber: Stockholm.
BRÄNNMARK, M., EKLUND, J., HÅKANSSON, M. & VOGEL, K. 2012. Belastningsergonomiska studier utifrån ett produktions- och systemperspektiv – interventioner, verksamhetseffekter och konsekvenser. In, 2012 Stockholm. Arbetsmiljöverket. Retrieved from http://www.av.se/dokument/aktuellt/kunskapsoversikt/RAP2012_01.pdf
BRÄNNMARK, M., HALVARSSON, A. & LINDSKOG, P. 2011. Implementing Lean in Swedish Municipalities and Hospitals - Initial effects on the work system. In: Forum för arbetslivsforsknings konferens (FALF2011): Det nya arbetslivet, 2011 Luleå, Sweden. Retrieved from http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:460019/FULLTEXT01
BÖRNFELT, P.-A. 2006. Förändringskompetens på industrigolvet: kontinuerligt förändringsarbete i gränslandet mellan lean production och socioteknisk arbetsorganisation. Doctoral thesis, Institutionen för arbetsvetenskap Göteborgs universitet; Arbetslivsinstitutet. Retrieved from https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/2077/4379/1/ah2006_01.pdf.
DAHLGAARD, J., J & DAHLGAARD-PARK, S. M. 2006. Lean production, six sigma quality, TQM and company culture. The TQM Magazine, 18, 263-281.
FULLERTON, R. R., MCWATTERS, C. S. & FAWSON, C. 2003. An examination of the relationships between JIT and financial performance. Journal of Operations Management, 21, 383-404.
GENAIDY, A. M. & KARWOWSKI, W. 2003. Human performance in lean production environment: Critical assessment and research framework. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries, 13, 317-330.
GIROUX, H. 2006. ‘It Was Such a Handy Term’: Management Fashions and Pragmatic Ambiguity*. Journal of management studies, 43, 1227-1260.
GOLHAR, D. Y. & STAMM, C. L. 1991. The just-in-time philosophy: A literature review. International Journal of Production Research, 29, 657 - 676.
HAMPSON, I. 1999. Lean Production and the Toyota Production System Or, the Case of the Forgotten Production Concepts. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 20, 369-391.
HASLE, P., BOJESEN, A., JENSEN, P. L. & BRAMMING, P. 2012. Lean and the working environment – a review of the literature. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 32.
HINES, P., HOLWEG, M. & RICH, N. 2004. Learning to evolve: A review of contemporary lean thinking. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 24, 994-1011.
IF METALL. 2010. Hållbart arbete – en plattform för utveckling av arbetsorganisationen. Retrieved from: http://www.ifmetall.se/ifmetall/home/resources.nsf/vRes/if_metall_1299580918718_hallbart_arbete_webb_pdf/$File/H%C3%A5llbart%20arbete_webb.pdf
JOHANSSON, J. & ABRAHAMSSON, L. 2009. The good work - A Swedish trade union vision in the shadow of lean production. Applied Ergonomics, 40, 775-780.
JOHANSSON, S. forthcoming. Svenska fackföreningarna och lean - ett tudelat förhållande. In: SEDERBLAD, P. (ed.) Japanska Produktionssystem och Lean Production. Stockholm: Liber.
KIESER, A. 1997. Rhetoric and Myth in Management Fashion. Organization, 4, 49-74.
LANDSBERGIS, P. A., CAHILL, J. & SCHNALL, P. 1999. The impact of lean production and related new systems of work organization on worker health. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 4, 108-30.
LANGSTRAND, J. 2012. Exploring organizational translation : a case study of changes toward Lean Production. Doctoral thesis, Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University. Retrieved from: http://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:503206/FULLTEXT03
LANGSTRAND, J. & ELG, M. 2012. Non-human resistance in changes towards Lean. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 25, 853-866.
LIKER, J. K. 2004. The Toyota way: 14 management principles from the world's greatest manufacturer, New York, McGraw-Hill.
MAZZOCATO, P., SAVAGE, C., BROMMELS, M., ARONSSON, H. & THOR, J. 2010. Lean thinking in healthcare: a realist review of the literature. Qual Saf Health Care, 19, 376-382.
PETTERSEN, J. 2009. Defining Lean Production – some conceptual and practical issues. The TQM Journal, 21, 127 - 142.
POKSINSKA, B. 2010. The Current State of Lean Implementation in Health Care: Literature Review. Quality Management in Healthcare, 19, 319-329.
RØVIK, K. A. 2000. Moderna organisationer: trender inom organisationstänkandet vid millennieskiftet, Malmö, Liber.
SALAR. 2012. Lean - Motiv, initiativ, implementering och resultat. In, 2012. Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, 1-27. Retrieved from: http://brs.skl.se/brsbibl/kata_documents/doc40182_1.pdf
SHAH, R. & WARD, P. T. 2003. Lean manufacturing: context, practice bundles, and performance. Journal of Operations Management, 21, 129-149.
SHAH, R. & WARD, P. T. 2007. Defining and developing measures of lean production. Journal of Operations Management, 25, 785-805.
WESTGAARD, R. H. & WINKEL, J. 2011. Occupational musculoskeletal and mental health: Significance of rationalization and opportunities to create sustainable production systems - A systematic review. Applied Ergonomics, 42, 261-296.
WINTER, M., SMITH, C., MORRIS, P. & CICMIL, S. 2006. Directions for future research in project management: The main findings of a UK government-funded research network. International Journal of Project Management, 24, 638-649.
WOMACK, J. & JONES, D. 2003. Lean thinking: banish waste and create wealth in your corporation, London, Free Press Business.
WOMACK, J., P., JONES, D., T. & ROOS, D. 1991. The machine that changed the world : The story of lean production, New York, Harper Perennial.
YIN, R. K. 1993. Applications of case study research, Newbury Park, Calif., Sage.
Authors
Brännmark, M., Langstrand, J., Johansson, S., Halvarsson, A., Abrahamsson, L., & Winkel, J. (2012). Researching Lean: Methodological Implications of Loose Definitions. Quality Innovation Prosperity, 16(2), 35–48. https://doi.org/10.12776/qip.v16i2.67
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