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This paper investigates developing a learning-to-learn capability as a critical success factor for sustainable lean transformation.

This research design is guided by our research question: how can suppliers learn to learn as part of a buyer-led collaborative lean transformation? The authors adopt action learning research to generate actionable knowledge from a lean supplier development initiative over a three-year period.

Drawing on emergent insights from the initiative, the authors find that developing a learning-to-learn capability is a core and critical success factor for lean transformation. The authors also find that network action learning has a significant enabling role in buyer-led collaborative lean transformations.

The authors contribute to lean theory and practice by making the distinction between learning about and implementing lean best practices and adopting a learning-to-learn perspective to build organisational capabilities, consistent with lean thinking and practice. Further, the authors contribute to methodology, adopting action learning research to explore learning-to-learn as a critical success factor for sustainable lean transformation.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the roles of internal lean consultants in western organizations during lean transformation processes and how these roles affect the outcomes of the changes.

Findings are based on a qualitative study of four Norwegian public organizations.

Characteristics of western organizations put internal lean consultants in important roles during the project initiation and change phases. However, consultants have less impact in the last phase of the transformation process while transferring the responsibilities over to line management. The organizations struggle to “make lean stick” due to the distribution of responsibilities between managers and internal consultants.

The distribution of responsibilities between managers and consultants should be carefully considered in lean transformation processes. Internal lean consultants should serve the managers as teachers and coaches, rather than doing their jobs for them.

The paper contributes with in-depth knowledge of the roles of internal consultants in lean transformation processes, a topic that the literature has left unexplored and undebated.

Lean remains popular in a wide range of private and public sectors and continues to attract a significant amount of research. However, most of this research is not grounded in theory. This paper presents and discusses different expert viewpoints on the role of theory in lean research and practice and provides guidelines for future research.

Seven experienced lean authors independently provide their views to the question “is Lean a theory?” before Rachna Shah summarizes the viewpoints and provides a holistic outlook for lean research.

Authors agree, disagree and sometimes agree to disagree. However, a close look reveals agreement on several key points. The paper concludes that Lean is not a theory but has plenty of theoretical underpinnings. Many lean-related theories provide promising opportunities for future research.

As researchers, we are asked to justify our research drawing on “theory,” but what does that mean for a practice-driven phenomenon such as lean? This paper provides answers and directions for future research.

This study aims to investigate the impact of a company-specific lean program (a so-called company-specific production system [XPS]) on the company’s financial performance. This study analyzes data from the implementation of XPS in multiple plants of a multinational corporation and examines the results through an organizational learning lens.

This study adopts a longitudinal single-case design to investigate a Norwegian multinational company in the process industry, producing silicon for the global market. The company has developed, implemented and institutionalized its own XPS since 1991. The program has directly contributed to extensive cost reduction and significantly strengthened the organization’s competitive position.

The findings of this study show a link between organizational learning and the improvement of financial results in the organization. This study presents a sand cone model that illustrates how the development and deployment of an XPS through individual- and orchestrated learning subsequently created a common platform for institutionalized learning within and across the multinational organization. This organizational learning capability managed to tie the company’s continuous improvement efforts directly to the improvement of cost levels throughout the value chain.

The practical implications of this work are significant, as this study uncovers the importance for managers to consider both individual-, orchestrated- and institutionalized learning (within and across a multinational network) when designing and implementing XPS to drive the improvement of an organization’s financial performance.

Documenting the financial impact of such programs is a common challenge. Therefore, the insights presented in this research are of value to both researchers and practitioners, in particular, managers and executives in large multinational organizations.

Being acquainted with both lean and action learning in theory and in practice, this study finds that the theoretical complementarity of these two research streams has traditionally been underexploited. In this conceptual paper, this study aims to advance the theoretical understanding of lean by exploring the complementarity of lean thinking and action learning leading to a proposed integrated theory of these two research streams. Target audience is the operations management research community.

By deliberately adopting a process of theorising, this paper explores, reflects upon and combines individual experiences of researching, teaching and engaging in lean and action learning as operations management scholars.

Having taken a gemba walk through the literature and practices of lean and action learning, this study views and notices a systematic and complementary relationship between the two domains. The overlapping theoretical and practical complementarities of lean and action learning suggest that these two research streams are ripe for synthesis into an integrated theory. This finding provides an opportunity to (1) progress towards an integrative design of interventions leading to more sustainable lean system adoptions and (2) add new depth to our theoretical explanation of the success and failures of lean system adoptions.

This paper contributes an original integrated theory perspective on lean and action learning.

Toyota had mature lean capabilities when developing its supplier network. This paper aims to explore how companies can develop a Toyota-style supplier network (TSN) while their lean capabilities are still evolving.

Theoretically, this paper relies on the literature on lean maturity levels and lean supplier network development. Empirically, the paper portrays a Toyota-style initiative, detailing the buyer’s efforts to develop internal lean capabilities concurrently with developing lean in its supplier network. It compares the Network for supplier innovation (NSI) initiative with TSN development regarding activities, organizations and knowledge-sharing routines.

Unlike the sequential development in the case of Toyota, NSI improved performance and capabilities in the buyer’s supplier network by implementing lean in the firm and its supplier network concurrently. Third-party involvement was the key to the initiative’s success.

The findings are based on an in-depth single-case study which allows theoretical generalization but not statistical generalization. Furthermore, the case study concerns an initiative with Norwegian firms during a financial recession. Future studies should consider these limitations on how firms with evolving lean capabilities can develop a TSN-style supplier network and the importance of involving third parties operating in the role of lean master.

This study suggests what buying firms should consider when designing a TSN initiative, enrolling suppliers and engaging third parties that can take on the role of lean master.

Previous research has focused on how mature lean firms develop lean suppliers and networks. This paper extends this to firms whose lean capabilities are still evolving.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the application of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in the continuous process industry, taking an insight into the food processing industry; and to evaluate the impact of LSS on environmental sustainability. The authors present observations and experiences from the application of LSS at a Norwegian dairy producer, with the aim of bringing out pertinent factors and useful insights that help us to understand how LSS can contribute toward greater environmental sustainability in this industry type, something that is so far lacking in the extant literature.

The authors adopt a single, longitudinal field study approach as we observe an entire cycle of the VSM-DMAIC (value stream mapping-define, measure, analyze, improve and control) LSS process, which evolved over a six-month period at the dairy.

The authors highlight some of the important elements that should be considered when using LSS as a contributor toward greater environmental sustainability in fresh-food supply chains. The authors also present some of the specific outcomes and key success criteria that became apparent to the implementation team following the deployment of the VSM-DMAIC approach.

The authors demonstrate how LSS can be applied in the food processing industry as a contributor to greater environmental sustainability. The authors also make useful reflections regarding the success criteria that can be used by researchers and practitioners for the effective deployment of such an approach, particularly in the continuous process industry.

This purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the current state of research on Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and Industry 4.0 and the key aspects of the relationships between them. The research analyses LSS's evolution and discusses the future role of LSS 4.0 in an increasingly digitalized world. We present the benefits and motivations of integrating LSS and Industry 4.0 as well as the critical success factors and challenges within this emerging area of research.

A systematic literature review methodology was established to identify, select and evaluate published research.

There is a synergistic nature between LSS and Industry 4.0. Companies having a strong LSS culture can ease the transition to Industry 4.0 while Industry 4.0 technologies can provide superior performance for companies who are using LSS methodology.

One limitation of this research was that as this area is a nascent area, the researchers were limited in their literature review and research. A more comprehensive longitudinal study would yield more data. There is an opportunity for further study and analysis.

This study reviews the evolution of LSS and its integration with Industry 4.0. Organisations can use this study to understand the benefits and motivating factors for integrating LSS and Industry 4.0, the Critical Success Factors and challenges to such integration.

This is the first systematic literature review on LSS 4.0 and can provide insight for practitioners, organisations and future research directions.

A lean approach is frequently applied in the primary processes of a company, but less in after-sales service. Servitization leads to a change from pure product providers to integrated product-service systems (PSS) providers. The after-sales services may benefit from a lean approach to effectively integrate usage data of the installed product base. This paper aims to develop a lean servitization canvas to open-up possibilities for additional revenue streams for organizations in the after-sales market.

This paper develops and proposes the use of a lean servitization canvas for effective after-sales services by drawing on insights from two industrial cases where physical goods are produced and serviced. Both cases are within the train maintenance and rail infrastructure sector in Central Europe. Based primarily on a literature review, a lean servitization canvas has been developed and further validated in the case studies.

The paper shows how value can be achieved for providers of integrated PSS by adopting the lean servitization canvas.

The research focuses on industrial services for high-capital goods in the rail and infrastructure sectors. This can be seen as a limitation of the research, as the lean servitization canvas has not yet been tested in other sectors.

For companies, the use of a lean approach to servitization integrates primary processes and after-sales services and offers new opportunities to develop business.

This paper provides insights into how the current product range and customer base of a company may be included in an after-sales business model that benefits from a lean approach.