Mapping quality performance through Lean Six Sigma and new product development attributes
ISSN: 1754-2731
Article publication date: 12 July 2023
Issue publication date: 14 August 2024
Abstract
Purpose
New product development (NPD) is necessary for business sustenance and customer satisfaction. Six Sigma and Design for Lean Six Sigma (DLSS) efficiently employ the repetitive stages for NPD, leading to quality performance and profitability. This study aims to map the quality performance through NPD attributes through the Lean methodology.
Design/methodology/approach
The data on NPD were collected from 267 respondents from manufacturing companies to map the relationship between Six Sigma and DLSS for NPD. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to confirm model fit, while structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the empirical data for framework testing. The study included nine variables and fourteen hypotheses identified from the literature.
Findings
The statistical results of this study show that NPD attributes such as innovation, marketing, organization, customer, product and technology positively influence the Lean Six Sigma structured improvement process (LSSSIP) and DLSS. Moreover, integrating these attributes in Lean planning enhance quality performance. This empirical investigation's findings indicate that ten of the 14 hypotheses were supported, giving the study a strong foundation.
Research limitations/implications
The data collection was limited to northern India; therefore, the results may not be generalizable to other areas of the world.
Practical implications
NPD involves handling technical issues and factors such as cost, operational bottlenecks, economic changes, competitors' strategy and company policy. This study helps understand the various NPD parameters and their relationship to Lean, which enables an effective NPD implementation strategy.
Originality/value
The current philosophy of NPD calls for a concurrent engineering approach; therefore, the entire organization must be part of this process. This study uses the holistic framework by optimizing NPD with Lean Six Sigma (LSS) principles. The study is unique in that, to date, research does not integrate NPD attributes with the objectives of LSS to develop an efficient NPD implementation strategy.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers, Associate Editor, and Editor-in-Chief for their valuable comments and suggestions that helped to improve the manuscript.
Funding: The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Citation
Kumar, V., Cudney, E.A., Mittal, A., Jha, A., Yadav, N. and Owad, A.A. (2024), "Mapping quality performance through Lean Six Sigma and new product development attributes", The TQM Journal, Vol. 36 No. 7, pp. 2107-2131. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-11-2022-0324
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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