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This study aims to investigate the implementation of lean human resource management (HRM) practices in manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and explore how various factors interact to influence their successful adoption. By exploring the interplay among these factors, the research seeks to identify key drivers affecting the adoption of lean HRM in manufacturing SMEs. Ultimately, the research intends to provide insights that can guide organisations, practitioners and policymakers in effectively implementing lean HRM practices to enhance operational efficiency, workforce engagement and competitiveness within the manufacturing SME sector.

The study combined total interpretive structural modelling (TISM) and Matrice d'Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée à un Classement (MICMAC) analysis. TISM helped in understanding the hierarchical relationship among different factors influencing lean HRM implementation, whereas MICMAC analysis provided insights into the level of influence and dependence of each factor on others.

The research revealed that “top management support” emerged as the most independent factor, indicating that strong support from top management is crucial for initiating and sustaining lean HRM practices in manufacturing SMEs. On the other hand, “employee involvement and empowerment” was identified as the most dependent factor, suggesting that fostering a culture of employee engagement and empowerment greatly relies on the successful implementation of lean HRM practices.

While the study provided valuable insights, it has certain limitations. The research was conducted within the specific context of manufacturing SMEs, which might limit the generalizability of the findings to other industries. Expert opinions introduce subjectivity in data collection. Additionally, the study may not cover all critical factors, allowing room for further exploration in future research.

The findings have practical implications for manufacturing SMEs aiming to implement lean HRM practices. Recognising the pivotal role of top management support, organisations should invest in cultivating a strong leadership commitment to lean HRM initiatives. Furthermore, enhancing employee involvement and empowerment can lead to better adoption of lean HRM practices, resulting in improved operational efficiency and overall competitiveness.

This research contributes to the field by offering a comprehensive exploration of the interplay among factors influencing lean HRM implementation. The use of TISM and MICMAC analysis provides a unique perspective on the relationship dynamics between these factors, allowing for a nuanced understanding of their roles in the adoption of lean HRM practices in manufacturing SMEs. The identification of “top management support” as the most independent and “employee involvement and empowerment” as the most dependent factors adds original insights to the existing literature.

The current research aims to map and investigate how human resource management and lean practices can be integrated. This investigation will help identify the HRM aspects critical in the success of lean initiatives while exploring the research gaps in the existing literature. The review also aims to delineate the benefits and challenges of integrating lean with HRM systems to discuss further research and practice areas.

This study utilizes a systematic literature review method to identify and synthesize the existing literature. As part of the process, a protocol that provided a plan for the review was followed, including the research questions and the data to be extracted.

The study results indicate that aspects of HRM practice and policies such as training and development, teamwork, motivation, communication, leadership, are key enablers of lean initiative deployment and success. The benefits of the integration of human resources with lean can help in lean training and development, communication of lean initiatives and successes, allocating and hiring continuous improvement personnel, and supporting leadership in lean deployment. Challenges to integrating lean and HRM practices included lack of integration and collaboration between disciplines. Further exploration areas in successful lean deployment would be practical longitudinal case studies on lean deployments with human resource (HR) partnerships and involvement.

This review paper has crucial implications for practice relating to, integration of lean with HRM structures and tailoring HRM initiatives to ensure the success of lean deployment and reduce risks of failure.

The systematic literature review study conducted in this paper is the first of its kind to integrate and map the HRM concepts that can be integrated with Lean to deploy the initiative successfully. This mapping is critical for ensuring the success of lean methodologies within an organization and paves the way for future research. In addition, managers and organizations can find support and guidance from this study to focus on vital areas of partnership between their lean and HR programs.

Demanding and highly competitive business environment has stimulated small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to restructure their manufacturing practices. Lean manufacturing (LM), a comprehensive alternative, is now being adopted, notably by manufacturing organizations, to increase business effectiveness and performance through a variety of lean approaches. Lean implementation, however, ran into a number of difficulties, which showed that non-technical factors such as human-related practices must also be integrated if lean is to be successful. This study aims to examine a thorough overview of the various human-related lean practices (HRLP) mentioned in recent literature and to determine which of them is more pertinent to a successful LM implementation in SMEs.

A total of 193 publications published in 45 journals between 2013 and 2023 and based on the 4 reputable publishers, namely, Science Direct, Emerald Online, Taylor and Francis and Springer Link, were gathered based on a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles in LM.

The amount of research on human resource management and lean management that has been conducted has increased dramatically during the past few years. The outcome of this study will offer a thorough analysis of soft lean practices found in the LM literature that manufacturing SMEs should take into account while implementing lean.

The scope of this research is restricted to a survey of scholarly works using the terms “Lean manufacturing” or “Lean production” as well as “human” or “people” or “soft-lean practices” in the title. Furthermore, only works published in scholarly publications that have undergone peer review were included. Also, due to the authors’ linguistic restrictions, only English articles were used. The HRLP linked to a smooth lean transition are described in this research. Thus, it can be used to assist the production and human resource departments in raising an organization’s long-term performance.

The study gives researchers a better grasp of the direction the subject is taking and what gaps still exist, which aids them in focusing their research on HRLP in small- and medium-sized businesses.

The view that dynamic capabilities theory can help explain how lean organizations improve has been put forward by scholars. However, there is still a lack of research on the matching relationship between the application of lean practice and the internal elements of enterprise organization from the perspective of dynamic capabilities. The purpose of this study is to validate the moderating effect of dynamic capabilities on the relationship between lean practices and operational performance.

This study used the method of survey and empirical research to collect sample data from 263 enterprises in China. Through literature review, this study put forward the moderating hypotheses around dynamic capabilities, lean practices and operation performance and used the method of regression analysis to validate these hypotheses.

The results showed that dynamic capabilities have a partially moderating effect on the application of lean practices. Specifically, dynamic capabilities have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between just-in-time, total quality management, total preventive maintenance and operational performance, while dynamic capabilities have no significant moderating effect on the relationship between human resource management and operational performance.

The research conclusion complements and enriches the lean practices literature from the perspective of dynamic capabilities. Existing studies mainly focus on the moderating role of external environmental factors, while there is a lack of empirical research on the role of dynamic capabilities in lean practices literature. The research results will help enterprises further understand the matching relationship between lean practices and dynamic capabilities and then improve the success of lean practices application.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the adoption of lean practices by manufacturing companies in regions of low economic and technological development and to compare findings with previous studies from more developed regions highlighting important contextual differences. The paper uses the contingency theory to explore how contextual variables and scarce resources influence the adoption of lean practices.

A survey of 233 manufacturing firms was conducted in the State of Pará in the Amazon Region of Brazil.

The results demonstrate that six internal lean practices (single minute exchange of dies, human resource management, continuous flow, total productive maintenance, pull and statistical process control) and two external lean practices (supplier feedback and customer involvement) are implemented. However, the two external lean practices of just-in-time delivery by suppliers and supplier development were not implemented. Furthermore, from the 36 operating items comprised in eight lean practices that are being used, 13 were not implemented. As such, compared to developed regions, there is evidence for a more fragmented implementation in less developed regions. The results reveal empirical evidence explained by the contingency perspective, such as national, geographical, strategic context and culture.

There is broad evidence on lean implementation in developed and developing countries in the literature. However, little is known about lean implementation in poorer regions of developing counties. This is one of the first studies mapping lean implementation in a region with low economic and technological development. This has important implications for research and practice, especially to cross-country/cultural research on operation management.

This paper seeks to emphasise the need to re-evaluate university teacher recruitment processes. The implementation of lean processes helps to improve organisational practices; in the case of university recruitment, however, organisational processes have remained unchanged for decades. Although there is a traditional justification for having academic recruitment as a rigorous and complex process (as a practiced method by which to identify the most suitable applicants), the increase of competition across the sector, and the internet revolution, has rendered these older methods partially ineffective. The author argues that recruitment systems and practices need reviewing to overhaul inefficacious elements.

This is a quasi-literature discourse combined with the author’s experience in human resources management teaching and recruitment expertise at the Higher Education level.

Lean approach if successfully introduced to academic recruitment might reduce the effect of discouraged job seekers paradox and workload on human resources (HR) officers.

The volume of studies reviewed is limited, and therefore, more empirical findings are required in the area of lean recruitment.

HR departments of universities might consider practices that will improve the recruitment process and promote labour force participation.

According to the author’s knowledge, lean concept has been applied to HR (recruitment) for the first time in this study.

The goal of this research is to create a conceptual model that identifies the relationship between organizational learning and green human resource management practices and its contribution to the circular economy. The focus of this research is to identify the organizational learning and green human resource factors that lead to a more circular economic transformation.

The importance of the interaction of factors benefiting both individuals and organizations has been comprehensively explained by combining two well-known theories: resource-based view theory and organizational learning theory. As learning entails change, a climate of organizational learning combined with green human resource practices will efficiently help firms transition to a circular economy. The authors establish a conceptual model in this study, which they then apply to the small- and medium-sized manufacturing industry and report on in the second paper.

This study concentrates on the factors of organizational learning and green human resource management practices that help to create a circular economy after conducting a thorough literature analysis and consulting with experts.

The conceptual model can be applied to organizations in any industry. In the second part, the authors would investigate the interaction of the indicated factors and build their structural hierarchy using the total interpretive structural modelling method for the small- and medium-sized industries and then present the findings.

The proposed framework might facilitate decision-makers, practitioners and academicians to comprehend the relationship between organizational learning and green human resource management factors and their influence on organizations’ transition into a circular economy. The study’s findings will help HR managers clarify the significant organizational learning and green human resource management factors that play a vital role in transitioning organizations into a circular economy.

This research adds to our understanding of the intricate interactions between organizational learning and green human resource management as they relate to the circular economy. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the conceptual model illustrating the inter-relationship between organizational learning and green human resource management is the first of its type, and it is a novel notion because no previous research has looked into it.

Human Resource Practices (HRPs) have undergone a revolutionary change, with their practices being more strategic for facilitating the change process. Extant literature studies the impact of Lean Thinking Practices (LTPs) on Organizational Performance (OP). However, the role of HRP as a strategic partner in the inculcation of LTP appears to have been explored sparingly. Hence, this paper aims to identify the specific HRPs that enhance the impact of Lean Thinking on OP.

A cross-sectional survey method was adopted. A total of 528 responses from IT organizations across various levels and processes were collected. The proposed conceptual framework was tested and validated SPSS-Process Macro.

Findings revealed that the presence of HRPs as moderators is significantly impacting the relationship between LTP and OP. LTP when moderated by HRPs significantly impacts employee well-being when compared to other performance variables.

This study is a maiden attempt to study the role of HRP in the inculcation of LTP in IT organizations. Earlier studies, which have mainly concentrated on the need for Human Resource (people) involvement, have spoken and researched less about the specific HRPs in the inculcation of LTP. An empirically validated specific HRP for inculcating LTP in IT organizations is a significant contribution.

The purpose of this paper is to understand possible linkage between variables that constitute a lean manufacturing enterprise. In the study the authors have tried to decode the complex relationship among variables which is missing in extant literature.

In the study the authors have used systematic literature review (SLR) approach to identify the variables from extant literature and used interpretive structural modelling (ISM) and Fuzzy MICMAC analysis to understand complex equation among variables from Indian manufacturing firm perspective.

The findings using ISM modeling indicate top management support is the bottom level and business performance is the top level. In order to further resolve conflicts the authors have further analyzed variables using Fuzzy MICMAC analysis which has further divided variables into four clusters. The Fuzzy MICMAC output suggests that top management support, real time production information, training and team work are the driving variables and business performance, total quality management and lean behavior are the dependence variables.

Like any study, the study have its own limitations. In the study the authors have developed the model based on expert opinion. The number may be not enough to validate this model statistically. However, it can be regarded as a platform for further investigation using structural equation modeling.

The present study using ISM model has proposed a model based upon experts, identified from Indian major manufacturing firms. This model can further provide empirical platform for further investigation which can resolve lean manufacturing issues.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a major source of employment and revenue growth in developing nations like India, but they also face challenges from resource shortages, shifting consumer demand and heightened competition. This research aims to discover the aspects that enhance SMEs' competitiveness and performance.

By analyzing literature and consulting experts, 10 factors that boost a firm's competitiveness were identified. The total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) method was then used to determine their interaction and structural hierarchy. Neutrosophic-MICMAC analysis was employed to assess the driving-dependence power of each factor.

The study discovered that the factor, namely “entrepreneurial orientation,” was found to be a significant one. “Manufacturing strategy” was found to be extremely dependent on the remaining competitive advantage factors.

This SME-focused framework can be adopted by large businesses to enhance organizational performance by focusing on critical factors. The study depends on experts' judgment, which might be biased. Findings will assist SMEs in identifying significant factors influencing competitive advantage and relationships, increasing awareness of factors contributing to competitive edge.

The results of the research may encourage SME sector managers and practitioners to prioritize the factors that contribute to a firm's competitive advantage.

The majority of research on SME competitive advantage focuses on individual aspects. To add to the body of knowledge on the subject, this study applies the TISM technique to Indian SMEs to identify the contextual interactions among factors that increase long-term competitiveness.