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Identification of critical success factors (CSFs) for any continuous improvement initiative is important as it allows organisations to focus their efforts on these factors to ensure a success. The purpose of this paper is to present the CSFs for the effective implementation of Lean Six Sigma and to analyze the implementation of Lean Six Sigma, focusing on the CSFs identified in the literature, through a survey of companies, geographically dispersed, from both the manufacturing and service industry.

The approach taken by authors in this study has two fundamental parts. The first part was to analyse the current literature on CSFs for all continuous improvement initiatives such as TQM, Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma. The second part was to design a survey questionnaire based on the literature. The questionnaire was sent to 600 companies (both manufacturing and service) and the response rate is approximately 17 per cent.

Analysis of key findings highlighted that the most important factors are: management commitment, cultural change, linking Lean Six Sigma to business strategy and leadership styles. The results also revealed that the least important factors are linking Six Sigma to HR rewards and extending Lean Six Sigma to supply chain.

A sample size of 101 companies is not sufficient to generalise our key findings. This will be rectified by carrying out further surveys in the forthcoming months and making this investigation a longitudinal study. Moreover, the authors have to execute semi‐structured interviews to obtain a better understanding of the current practice of Lean Six Sigma in participating organisations. An online survey was administered for this study; however future semi‐structured interviews with employees in those companies would enable one to have a better understanding of their practice of Lean Six Sigma programmes.

Although there are a number of papers published on CSFs of Lean and Six Sigma, it was found that there is a dearth of literature on CSFs of Lean Six Sigma implementation. The authors also compare and contrast the CSFs in both manufacturing and service organisations. The results showed what the most and least important factors are for a successful implementation of Lean Six Sigma, providing valuable insights for organizations which will be embarking on this journey.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between four organizational cultural types defined by the Competing Values Framework and three Lean Six Sigma implementation components – management involvement, use of Lean Six Sigma methods and Lean Six Sigma infrastructure.

The study involved surveying 446 human resource and quality managers from 223 hospitals located in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Rhode Island using the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument.

In total, 104 completed responses were received and analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance. Follow-up analysis of variances showed management support was significant, F(3, 100)=4.89, p < 0.01, η2=1.28; infrastructure was not significant, F(3, 100)=1.55, p=0.21, η2=0.05; and using Lean Six Sigma methods was also not significant, F(3, 100)=1.34, p=0.26, η2=0.04. Post hoc analysis identified group and development cultures having significant interactions with management support.

The relationship between organizational culture and Lean Six Sigma in hospitals provides information on how specific cultural characteristics impact the Lean Six Sigma initiative key components. This information assists hospital staff who are considering implementing quality initiatives by providing an understanding of what cultural values correspond to effective Lean Six Sigma implementation.

Managers understanding the quality initiative cultural underpinnings, are attentive to the culture-shared values and norm’s influence can utilize strategies to better implement Lean Six Sigma.

The purpose of this study was to examine patterns in the research contributions from individuals in the field to detect whether they reflect the evolution of academic discussion concerning integration of Lean and Six Sigma methodology over a fixed time period.

Data was gathered from a keyword search of articles in the SCOBUS data base to determine the most frequent contributors in the areas of Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma research. Searches were carried out over five-yearly intervals from 2000 to 2015 and the twenty-one top contributors in each time period were identified.

The findings show that research contributions have moved away from looking at the single methodologies of Lean and Six Sigma and towards research based on the integrated Lean Six Sigma approach. The analysis also suggested that researchers may be publishing papers using different methodologies in response to different challenges in selecting the most appropriate tools to meet the needs of the specific issues they are addressing rather than advocating a particular approach.

For organizations to optimize performance a flexible approach would be beneficial with consideration being given to the specific issue and the correct tools and methodology selected from an integrated system or from Lean or Six Sigma systems alone.

This paper has originality in its’ consideration of the patterns of research contributions over a fixed time period as a reflection of the shift in debate from exclusive Lean or Six Sigma approaches to a more integrated Lean Six Sigma system.

The purpose of this paper is to present the corporate views of the commonalities and differences between two of the most powerful methodologies for process improvement in organisations.

The approach taken was to collate the viewpoints from various corporate professionals. Participants were chosen from different countries across the globe, with a median experience of 10 years as a quality professional with expertise in the field of both Lean and Six Sigma.

Thirty-one key points have been highlighted as findings, as a summary of viewpoints provided by the participants. Fourteen commonalities and 17 differences between Six Sigma and Lean were identified. Key findings were grouped under four categories – Approach, Customer, Focus and Organisation.

The corporate opinions expressed in the paper are those of a few professionals selected for the study. It is important to capture the viewpoints of more such practitioners to arrive at sound and valid conclusions.

The paper provides an excellent platform for both academicians and working professionals to understand the corporate views of commonalities and differences between the two powerful process improvement methodologies. The paper lays a platform for researchers to understand the applications of Six Sigma and Lean for process excellence.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the widespread but fragmented application of Lean Six Sigma within the UK public sector, providing the context of some of the challenges faced within the sector as well as some of the successful applications of Lean Six Sigma. The paper fundamentally seeks to challenge the concept that Lean Six Sigma is not suitable for use in the public sector.

A summary of the challenges facing the public sector is shown from current literature and this is presented as drivers for change. A number of successful applications of Lean Six Sigma are then evidenced demonstrating examples across areas of the public sector.

This paper concludes that while Lean Six Sigma is applicable to the UK public sector additional work is required to better evidence the benefits and return on investment that can be delivered as well as considering more holistic approaches on an agency wide basis.

This paper seeks to contribute to and broaden the limited body of evidence of the applicability of Lean Six Sigma to the UK public sector and identifies areas for further research and review.

Understanding the applicability of Lean Six Sigma affords opportunities to public sector agencies in the current budget climate but additionally affords ways in which quality of service can be enhanced. In some cases, it provides opportunities to meet new statutory requirements around community empowerment.

The paper contributes to the body of evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of Lean Six Sigma within the public sector and suggests opportunity for those agencies to meet funding challenges faced across the UK.

The purpose of this paper is to present the fundamental and critical differences between two of the most powerful methodologies in a process excellence initiative in any organisation.

The approach taken was to collate opinions from a number of leading academics and practitioners from five different countries. It was also important to ensure that all participants have a good knowledge and expertise in the field of both Lean and Six Sigma methodologies.

Although both methodologies are focused on process and quality improvement, Lean is formalisation and codification of experience and judgement which is not a feature of Six Sigma. Lean emphasises speed and waste, however Six Sigma emphasises variation, defects and process evaluation.

The viewpoints expressed in the article are those of a few academics and practitioners. It is important to capture the viewpoints of more academics and practitioners to arrive at sound and valid conclusions.

The paper provides an excellent resource for many researchers and for practitioners who are engaged in research and applications of the most two powerful methodologies for achieving and sustaining operational excellence. It is also critical to understand the fundamental differences between these two methodologies.

The purpose of this study is to investigate awareness and opportunities for Lean Six Sigma in public sector municipalities striving to become more efficient and effective in the quality and delivery of services and goods leading to increased citizen satisfaction and budget savings.

Lean Six Sigma is a quality improvement methodology widely implemented in the for-profit sectors and, now, is expanding into the public sector. This study includes a literature review on Lean Six Sigma, supported by results from interviews with public sector officials, and includes recommendations for how public sector entities can utilize Lean Six Sigma.

Based on results from interviews with a sample of public sector officials, this study uncovered that overall there exists a keen interest in Lean Six Sigma and how it can be applied to streamline and improve organizational processes, produce cost-savings, improve organizational culture and improve the quality of goods and services. This study also discovers that there are plenty of opportunities for Lean Six Sigma in the public sector and municipalities can, in fact, incorporate its philosophy and methodology to streamline and improve organizational processes, produce cost-savings, improve organizational culture and improve the quality of goods and services.

Abundant literature exists on Lean Six Sigma and the private sector. This study includes a review of the literature supported by interview results of public sector officials and suggests techniques for how public sector municipalities can utilize the Lean Six Sigma methodology. In a twenty-first-century economy, public sector officials are looking for ways to maximize their tax dollars while increasing the quality of their goods and services; Lean Six Sigma is a framework that can make these objectives become a reality.

This study aims to investigate the effect of Lean Six Sigma elements on the Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing organizations’ business performance.

Data were collected from 120 managers out of about 300 managers by means of questionnaire. After confirming normality, validity and reliability of the study tool, correlation analysis was carried out, and then multiple regressions were used to test the hypotheses.

The results show that there is an agreement on high implementation of Lean Six Sigma variables among Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing organizations; there are strong relationships among Lean Six Sigma variables, except between non-utilized talent and transportation; there are strong relationships between Lean Six Sigma variables and business performance. All Lean Six Sigma variables have effect on business performance, except extra processing and waiting time.

This study was carried out on the pharmaceutical industry in Jordan, generalizing results of one industry and/or one country to other industries and/or countries may be questionable. Extending the analyses to other industries and countries represents future research opportunities.

Implementing Lean Six Sigma variables in all Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing organizations can improve their business performance; also, it can be applied to other manufacturing industry.

The aim of all organizations is to reduce waste, which leads to reserve the natural resources, which is considered as a corporate social responsibility.

Only few studies related to Lean or Six Sigma have been carried out in pharmaceutical industry in Jordan. Therefore, this study might be considered as an initiative study, which studies the effect of both Lean and Six Sigma on pharmaceutical industry in Jordan.

Many organizations have reported significant benefits after the implementation of Lean Six Sigma (LSS). Embracing LSS requires asking some important questions: How Lean Six Sigma Readiness (LESIRE) can be measured? How can an organization identify the barriers for LESIRE? Answers to these questions are critical to both academicians and practitioners. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

This study illustrates the development process of a Lean Six Sigma Readiness (LESIRE) evaluation model to assess an organization’s readiness for LSS deployment using the fuzzy approach. The model was developed from 4 enablers, 16 criteria and 46 attributes of LSS, identified through a literature review.

To demonstrate the efficiency of the model, this study testing the LESIRE evaluation model in three Indian SMEs. Using experts’ ratings and weight, the researchers calculated the Fuzzy Lean Six Sigma index (FLSS) which indicates the LESIRE level of an organization and the Fuzzy Performance Importance Index (FPII) that helps to identify the barriers for LESIRE.

The main limitations of this study are that it did not consider the failure factors of LSS for model development and the LESIRE was only tested in manufacturing industries. Thus, future researchers could focus on developing a model with failure factors. The results obtained from the SMEs show that LESIRE is capable of assessing LESIRE in an industrial scenario and helps practitioners to measure LESIRE for the future decision making process.

The LESIRE model is easy to understand and use without much computation complexity. This simplicity makes the LESIRE evaluation model unique from other LSS models. Further, LESIRE was tested in three different SMEs, and it aided them to identify and improve their weak areas, thereby readying them for LSS deployment.

The main contribution of this study it proposes a LESIRE model that evaluates the organization for FLSS and FPII for LESIRE, which is essential for the organization embarking on an LSS journey. Further, it improves the readiness of the organization that is already practicing LSS.

Literature reviews are a pervasive aspect in research. An ever mounting field such as Lean Six Sigma requires a perpetual touch on the subject to accentuate insights that can be researched about. The purpose of this paper is to address the published literatures in the field of Lean Six Sigma through multiple criterion for an enhanced understanding of the subject matter through summarizing its current trends, uncovering existing literature gaps and revealing opportunities for future research in the field.

The literature review on Lean Six Sigma field spans around 17 years that includes peer-reviewed journals from management, business, engineering, healthcare, manufacturing, military among the many disciplines. The study uses a content analysis approach in which several dimensions of the literature were analysed: purpose or focus of study, years of publication, journal name or publications, methodologies, theories used, country of study, industry sub-sectors, active authors in the field, critical success factors, barriers and challenges and the most contribution of Lean Six Sigma papers by universities.

Eleven important findings from the analysis were summarized among them; the field of Lean Six Sigma had begun to grow significantly since the new millennium particularly after the 2004-2007 or 2008 period; standalone concepts of Lean and Six Sigma are highly researched compared to the integrated concepts; large proportion of perspective, conceptual and descriptive based studies; lack of empirical validity on the fusion between Lean and Six Sigma; lack of theoretical based studies, etc.

The study is limited to 102 journals in commonly searched databases in the subject matter which produced 261 journal papers. This study seeks to broaden the summary of studies done under the keyword “Lean Six Sigma”.

The review analysis uses a content analysis approach in search of valuable gaps in existing research. The study found 261 papers from 102 journals that were published over the past seventeen years (2000-2016). This paper provides scholars, practitioners and managers with insights on the present trends and focus of Lean Six Sigma in addition to what else are lacking in the subject matter, which could pave the way for future research and practical endeavours.