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Employee's performance and Kaizen events' success: does supervisor behaviour play a moderating role?

Manjeet Kharub (Department of Mechanical Engineering, CVR College of Engineering, Hyderabad, India)
Himanshu Gupta (Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, India)
Sudhir Rana (College of Healthcare Management and Economics, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates)
Olivia McDermott (College of Science and Engineering, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland)

The TQM Journal

ISSN: 1754-2731

Article publication date: 4 January 2023

Issue publication date: 5 December 2023

491

Abstract

Purpose

The study's goal was to identify the factors contributing to the practical completion of Kaizen events (KEs). The effect of the work-study man's characteristics, the supervisor's conduct and the autonomy of the Kaizen team are analysed in this study.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 249 respondents working in the manufacturing sector in India, mainly those who had been involved in Kaizen projects. Three-step procedures, namely, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and partial least squares, have been applied to test the research hypotheses through structural equational modelling.

Findings

The exploratory factor analysis extracted in-role performance, creative performance and human aspect as latent variables explaining work-study man's performance (eigenvalue = 1). The study's findings indicate that the performance of work-study man (in-role, creative and human) and supervisors' conduct is directly related to the success of KEs. It was shown that supervisors might influence the outcomes of KEs only by moderating the human aspects. Additionally, the degree of autonomy of the Kaizen team was found having a significant positive relationship with the success of KEs.

Practical implications

The current study suggests that in-role and creative performance are prime assets of a work-study man. At the same time, the human aspect is a delicate issue that can affect the supervisor's behaviour. Therefore, the study implies that work-study men have the tactics and abilities to work with other co-workers to make a Kaizen project successful.

Originality/value

Although the significance of Kaizen projects has been widely emphasised, past research has failed to establish what factors contribute to the success of Kaizen efforts. Similarly, the supervisor's critical role has been highlighted several times. However, it is unclear how their conduct influences the relationship between work-study man's performance and the effectiveness of Kaizen projects. This study contributes significantly to organisational culture and human resource management by answering these questions.

Keywords

Citation

Kharub, M., Gupta, H., Rana, S. and McDermott, O. (2023), "Employee's performance and Kaizen events' success: does supervisor behaviour play a moderating role?", The TQM Journal, Vol. 35 No. 8, pp. 2336-2366. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-06-2022-0203

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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