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The purpose of this paper is to identify and screen continuous innovation capability enablers (CICEs) in Indonesia’s manufacturing sectors, develop a relationship among these enablers and determine their driving power and dependence power in the sector.

The initial CICEs identification process is based on a literature review, while a fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) was used for the screening process of CICEs. Total interpretive structural modelling (TISM) was used to develop contextual relationships among various CICEs. The results of the TISM are used as an input for the matrix of cross-impact multiplications applied to classification (MICMAC) to classify the driving power and dependence powers of the CICEs.

This paper selected 16 CICEs classified in seven dimensions. TISM results and MICMAC analysis show that leadership, as well as climate and culture, are enablers with the highest driving power and lowest dependence powers; followed by information technology. The results of this study indicate that efforts to continuously develop innovation capabilities in the Indonesian manufacturing industries are strongly influenced by their leadership capability, climate and culture, also information technology-related capability.

The framework assessed in this study provides business managers and policymakers to obtain a bigger picture in developing policies with evidence-based strategy and priority in regard to continuous innovation capability.

The results will be useful for business managers and policymakers to understand the relationship between CICEs and identify key CICEs in Indonesia’s manufacturing sectors, which were previously non-existent.

Due to the globalisation of business, international assignments are becoming more typical career steps in managerial careers than before. On the other hand, expatriation has been found to include several problems including high costs, adjustment challenges, inefficiency, and premature returns. As an outcome, the need for adequate preparation and training of expatriates has been stressed. Here the focus has been on pre‐departure issues while on‐site support and training provided by host units has clearly been covered less. In the present study it is analysed what kind of on‐site support and training host units provide to expatriates and what kind of support the expatriates see as necessary. In order to understand the situation expatriates are facing when arriving at their host units, their adjustment difficulties and pre‐departure training are also covered. The results indicate that training and support provided by host units is a more common form of expatriate training than pre‐departure training. Thus, existing research may exaggerate the lack of expatriate training when focusing only on pre‐departure training.

This study explores the family governance structures that family firms employ to manage family business tensions.

Building on socioemotional wealth perspective and adopting a narrative methodological approach, the study analyses nine unique narratives of representatives of three Swedish family firms.

The study illustrates how the hybrid arena created between formal and informal family meetings is used as a governance structure for mitigating tensions by reinforcing family relational ties.

Based on the findings, this study suggests how reliance on hybrid arena informs the field of family business management and governance and suggests future research directions.

The findings of this study provide opportunities for family business practitioners, including owners, family members, family firm advisers and other stakeholders, to effectively manage family business tensions and foster socioemotional wealth.

In family firms, tensions can arise due to a desire for the preservation of socioemotional wealth. The authors show that these tensions may be managed by using informal and formal family meetings that create a hybrid arena where family members separate family and business issues and emotional and rational reactions, thereby avoiding negative emotions and creating a culture of harmony within the family.

The purpose of this study is to explore how Danish and Mexican communication and management practices are recontextualized at the Latin American office of a Scandinavian multinational corporation (MNC) located in Mexico.

A case study based on interviews, observations and company documents was conducted.

Well-educated Mexican middle managers appreciate the participative communication and management practices of Scandinavian MNCs, which transcend most experiences at local workplaces, but their interpretations and meaning system are influenced by the colonial legacy and political and socioeconomic context framing their working conditions.

This paper provides a contextualized analysis of a rich case study to further illustrate the challenges faced by MNCs in their quest to establish a regional office in a Latin American context and offers a theoretical model of the elements involved in complex recontextualization processes.

El objetivo de este estudio fue explorar cómo las prácticas de comunicación y gestión Danesas y Mexicanas son recontextualizadas en la oficina latinoamericana de una empresa multinacional (EMN) escandinava, ubicada en México.

Se llevó a cabo un caso de estudio basado en entrevistas, observaciones y documentos de la empresa.

Gerentes de mandos medios mexicanos, con educación superior aprecian las prácticas de comunicación y gestión participativa de la EMN escandinava, que trascienden en la mayoría de las experiencias en el lugar de trabajo local, pero sus interpretaciones y sistema de significado son influenciados por el legado colonial y el contexto político y socioeconómico que enmarcan sus condiciones de trabajo.

Este artículo proporciona un análisis contextualizado de un caso de estudio para ilustrar más a fondo los desafíos que enfrentan las empresas multinacionales en su búsqueda por establecer una oficina regional en un contexto latinoamericano y ofrece un modelo teórico de los elementos involucrados en procesos complejos de recontextualización.

O principal propósito deste estudo foi explorar como as práticas de comunicação e gestão, tanto dinamarquesa quanto mexicana, são recontextualizadas no escritório latino-americano de uma multinacional escandinava (MNC) localizada no México.

Foi realizado um estudo de caso baseado nas entrevistas, observações e nos documentos da empresa.

As gerentes intermediárias mexicanas, que são bem qualificados, apreciam a comunicação participativa e as práticas de gestão das multinacionais escandinavas, que superam a maioria das experiências existentes nos trabalho locais, mas suas interpretações e seu sistema de significação são influenciados pelo legado colonial e pelo contexto político e socioeconômico que enquadra as suas condições de trabalho.

Este artigo fornece uma análise contextualizada de um estudo de caso completo, que visa ilustrar melhor os desafios que serão enfrentados pelas multinacionais na sua busca por estabelecer um escritório regional neste contexto latino-americano, além de oferecer um modelo teórico dos elementos envolvidos nestes complexos processos de recontextualização.

Describes a methodology, called CUTE, after the ESPRIT‐project CUTE (Continuous Improvement using Information Technology towards Excellence) which was aimed at the development of a software‐aided tool to support companies, in particular small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) with the development of a sustained CI process. CUTE is based on a variety of hitherto mostly separate disciplines, in particular organisation design, operations management, innovation management and information technology. The methodology guides the user through a number of steps in which causes of poor performance are revealed, ways to develop improvement suggestions are generated, and the company’s capabilities to further develop and implement those suggestions are assessed. Through the ongoing development, implementation and evaluation of improvements both the company’s performance and its CI capabilities are improved continuously. A first test of the methodology has shown that CUTE helps users to increase their understanding of their operations and performance, and that the methodology provides a stimulus for starting focused improvement activities.

This study aims to propose an integrated framework for analyzing the effect of lean and agile innovation on the lean and agile supply chains.

The literature was reviewed and the dimensions of lean and agile supply chain/innovation were extracted. The statistical population included the managers and experts of pharmaceutical companies in Isfahan province. Eight pharmaceutical companies were selected. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to investigate the research variables. The face and content validity of the questionnaire and the data reliability were confirmed. After data collection, the studied companies were positioned in a two-by-two matrix and the associated data of two cells of the matrix, i.e. high lean supply chain/innovation and high agile supply chain/innovation were used for further statistical effect analysis using Smart-PLS.

The research results indicated that with the improvement of lean innovation in pharmaceutical companies, the lean supply chain improved by 97.9%; and with the improvement of agile innovation, the agile supply chain improved by 97.1%.

Considering lean innovation, pharmaceutical companies should deal with the process of conceptualizing innovation, and regarding agility strategy, their focus should be more on generating ideas to improve their agile supply chain. This study was performed during the COVID-19 pandemic and offers appropriate innovation strategies to improve the supply chain of pharmaceutical companies.

The literature review implies that no research has been conducted on the selected and classified variables of this study. Also, using the positioning matrix before statistical analysis distinguishes this paper from similar studies.

Industry 4.0 and Lean Production are a successful match in terms of performance improvement. While we understand the combined potential, there is still poor understanding of how companies should embrace digital transformation to make it successful and sustainable, and the role that lean plays in it. In this paper, we investigate how manufacturing companies embark upon digital transformation and how being lean might affect it.

We conducted multiple case studies with 19 manufacturing companies. We identified two clusters of companies according to their Lean maturity, and we assessed digital transformation patterns by analyzing insights coming both from cases and from the literature. Integrating cross-case analysis results, we developed a framework that shows two different digital transformation patterns according to companies’ commitment to Lean.

Our findings first and foremost show the significant role of lean in driving digital transformation. We identify two patterns, namely Sustaining digital transformation pattern, characterized by the pervasive role of lean culture with small and horizontal digital changes, involvement of people and willingness to maintain continuous process improvement, and Disruptive digital transformation pattern, characterized by few and large digital steps that imply a disruptive and radical change in the company system.

Empirical evidence supports the relevance of the proposed model and its practical usefulness. It can be used to design digital transformation, prepare properly the introduction of Industry 4.0 through a lean approach, and plan the future desired state, identifying the Industry 4.0 technologies that should be implemented.

It is widely recognized that the relationship between Industry 4.0 and lean is significant and positive, yet little evidence was presented to back that. We aim at bringing this debate forward by providing initial empirical evidence of the significant role that lean has on digital transformation, showing how lean drives the digital transformation pattern of companies.

The purpose of this study is to illustrate how the adoption of new enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems affects sensemaking in the process of Organizational Identity (OI) integration after a Merger and Acquisition (M&A).

Within a wider case study about an acquisition in chemical/pharmaceutical industry, the paper describes the effects of SAP adoption and implementation on the organizational identity. This methodology, based on semi‐structured interviews to project leaders and to team members, has allowed a deep comprehension of the context, even if results cannot provide statistical evidence of relationships.

Using the Swanson and Ramiller's approach to innovation, the paper argues that ERP adoption and implementation support sensemaking process if innovation takes place with mindfulness and because, in that case, people interact on symbolic meanings sharing retrospective knowledge and cognitive causal maps. After an M&A there are conditions for a mindful innovation with IT and therefore innovating with IT can be an effective way to enforce sensemaking process and, as a consequence, to influence the Organizational Identity evolution. In a constructionist approach, the evolution of organizational identity requires a social negotiation among members where sensemaking has a primary role. So, the integration process following acquisitions can be facilitated by adopting, implementing and assimilating common IT solutions with mindfulness.

The first limitation of this study is referred to timing. The author entered into the company within a year after the acquisition and went out at the beginning of SAP assimilation phase. Therefore, some perceptions could still evolve in different ways. The second limitation depends on the fact that the author analyzed a single case. By focusing on one case of acquisition – an acquisition that gives value to acquired company – the author might be limiting the transferability of the findings.

These results can be useful for both scholars and practitioners. Managers who face organizational change can consider the adoption and implementation of ERP as an opportunity to influence the evolution of Organizational Identity according to strategic priorities.

The value of this study is in its approach that links a strategic level (the new organizational identity expected by managers) with a social level (the new organizational identity that comes from interaction among people). This link is realized not using the ERP as an artefact but using the process of its adoption and implementation.

The paper tests if and to what extent lean management system adoption generates abnormal profitability, and how it accrues over time. Configurational approaches to lean management systems and “S-curve” effects in lean implementation are used to ground the paper's hypotheses and interpret its findings.

Using the emerging view of lean as enterprise-wide management systems, this quasi-experimental study uses a difference-in-differences approach to estimate the abnormal profitability (ROIC) attributable to lean management system adoption. The paper leverages a unique data set of lean adopters nested in a panel data set (19 years) of 2,088 industrial firms matched by industry and firm size. It applies a variety of regression methods (two-way fixed effect panel estimator, propensity score matching, instrumental variable two-stage-least squares) to estimate the size of the abnormal profitability attributable to lean management systems, addressing endogeneity issues related to non-random sampling, omitted variable bias and reverse causation. It also analyzes the cross-firm variability of such abnormal profitability and how it accrues over time.

For the average non-adopter in the sample (44.3 million euro revenues), lean adoption generates abnormal ROIC ranging from 1.4% to 3.9%. These results come into effect approximately three years after starting lean adoption and peak after eight years. While the average abnormal profitability attributable to lean adoption is sizable, it varies significantly across firms and over time. This significant variation is compatible with firms' diverse ability to understand the complex inner workings of lean systems, and to design and implement them so that they improve profitability.

The conceptualization of lean as enterprise-wide management system can be further refined to more effectively categorize the components of lean systems and investigate the nature of their relationships. Lean system adoption measurement can be fine-tuned to better capture cross-firm and longitudinal heterogeneity. Future work can explore other dependent variables of interest to different stakeholders including shareholders' value, employment and environmental and social sustainability.

The financial benefits of adopting lean can be reaped to the extent to which managers embrace lean as a philosophy and implement it pervasively in the organization. A firm can use the study's estimates as a basis for making calculations about the returns of investment in lean adoption. The paper also shows that “getting the lean system right” makes a significant difference in terms of abnormal profitability, which is twice as large for the best lean adopters..

Compared with the promises of many lean proponents and supporters, the paper provides a more realistic view of what to expect from lean adoption in terms of profitability. Adopting lean as a comprehensive, enterprise-wide management system is not a universal panacea, but a complex endeavor, characterized by multiple complex decisions that require considerable capabilities, coordinated efforts and consistency of action.

Differently from extant research, this study does not study the correlation between the adoption of lean operation practices and financial performance but focuses on the abnormal profitability generated by the adoption of lean as a pervasive, enterprise-wide management system. Its research design allows to identify the differential profitability attributable to lean adoption and documents that it accrues non-linearly.

The aim of this study is to investigate and clarify how the triple helix actors can effectively implement the concepts of Kaizen to navigate and overcome the complex obstacles brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Through broad literature reviews, nine common parameters under triple helix actor have been recognized. A regression analysis has been done to study how the triple helix actors’ common parameters impact Kaizen implementation in business operations.

The results of this study revealed insightful patterns in the relationships between the common parameters of triple helix actor and the dependent variables. Notably, the results also showed that leadership commitment (LC) emerges as a very significant component, having a big impact on employee engagement as well as organizational performance.

In addition to offering valuable insights, this study has limitations including the potential for response bias in survey data and the focus on a specific set of common parameters, which may not encompass the entirety of factors influencing Kaizen implementation within the triple helix framework during the pandemic.

The originality of this study lies in its comprehensive exploration of the interplay between triple helix actors and Kaizen principles in addressing COVID-19 challenges. By identifying and analyzing nine specific common parameters, the study provides a novel framework for understanding how triple helix actors collaboratively enhance organizational performance and employee engagement during challenging times.