Effects of green human resource management, internal environmental management and developmental culture between lean six sigma and operational performance
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how Lean Six Sigma (LSS), a widely used paradigm that promotes competitive advantage of different organisations in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way, affects operational performance in different organisational contexts. Although LSS is widely used to improve operational performance, the impact of LSS on operational performance appears to be different in different organisational contexts, prompting the attention of researchers and managers to shift from lean philosophy to the impact of contextual variables on the effectiveness of LSS implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a quantitative research design and conducts an empirical study in Pakistan. The sample consists of 339 management employees with an effective response rate of 67.8% in various sectors. In this study, partial least square structural equation modelling is used to examine the relationships among the variables using the resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capability theory (DCT) to support the model of this study.
Findings
This study reveals that the relationship between LSS and operational performance is partially mediated by green human resource management (GHRM) and internal environmental management (IEM). The moderating effect of the organisational developmental culture between LSS and operational performance is not identified, implying that the effect of developmental culture could vary under different cultures.
Originality/value
There is a lack of empirical studies investigating the role of GHRM, IEM and developmental culture in developing countries. This study extends the literature on the RBV and DCT in operational performance. The study’s outcome provides theoretical and practical implications for enhancing the effect of LSS implementation on operational performance in focal small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through human and environmental management factors.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the [National Natural Science Foundation of China] under Grant [number 71671139] and the [Humanities and Social Sciences Foundation, the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republicof China] under Grant [number 22YJC630179]. The authors would like to acknowledge Syeda Aqsa Hasaan (aqushah72@gmail.com), Hira Khyzer hirakhyzer@gmail.com, Rana Muhammad Rashid ranamuhammadrashid2001@gmail.com, Awbir Services, Industrial Engineering Consultancy, Karachi, Pakistan for helping to gather the data set and interviews, and Ammara Farooq, research scholar at Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China, for helping in editing ammara.28286@gmail.com. The authors are grateful to the Editor and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.
Declaration of competing interest: The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.
Citation
Fayyaz, A., Liu, C., Xu, Y. and Ramzan, S. (2024), "Effects of green human resource management, internal environmental management and developmental culture between lean six sigma and operational performance", International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLSS-04-2023-0065
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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