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This study aims to study the implementation of lean thinking at the strategic level of an Italian manufacturing company. Companies implementing continuous improvement (CI) projects in their production processes often take the monitoring phase for granted. This research deploys an A3 lean thinking project in the monitoring phase of strategic KPIs upon completion of several ongoing improvement projects.

The research methodology is action research aiming at disseminating the problems that the company is facing. The study relies on the lean action plan developed by Womack and Jones (2003): Planning for lean and Lean action. Lean planning consists of the following steps: find a change agent; get the knowledge; find a lever. Lean action uses the A3 lean approach.

The company reached high-performance improvements due to the proposed lean action plan.

This study contributes by presenting a lean action plan in the monitoring phase, highlighting the importance of the lean thinking-monitoring continuum in reducing time waste for faster diagnosis and using action research to analyze and instill reflective learning.

The research relies on the A3 methodology to showcase the benefits that a mature paradigm, often coined to production, still has unexplored potentials.

The purpose of this paper is to provide the description of an original framework for maintenance management plan development. The research aims to use in an integrated way different World Class Manufacturing (WCM)-based tools, in order to obtain a model which can be used for preventive maintenance in different industrial contexts.

In this research, a conceptual framework of preventive maintenance was described and then it was evaluated through a qualitative study in an Italian company. The company was chosen based on an initial interview with the operations team and the model area was selected. Then, the location was reorganized in order to obtain a green field which could sustain the implementation of the framework tools.

The case study was carried out in a small-medium manufacturing company which produces quick-release couplings and multiconnections, ranging from medium to ultra-high pressure. The defined framework has proved to be easy to implement in a company with a corrective maintenance plan, allowing the maintenance department to embrace the preventive maintenance culture. The maintenance model has been well received from the employees.

The framework allows a standardization of maintenance plans. Firstly, the standardization design itself allows finding previous wastes and consequent improvement areas. Then, it brings the improvement of a single machine which impacts all other machines in its family.

The added value of this study is the ability to integrate different WCM-based tools. Since the framework depicts a step-by-step process; it is also a starting point for companies that want to approach preventive maintenance for the first time.

Due to high customization, companies, which used to follow the make-to-stock (MTS) strategy, are now adopting the make-to-order (MTO) strategy along with MTS in order to cope with high variability in customer demand. Although lean is quite popular in general, its advantage in MTO-MTS environment is quite rare. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to show the benefits of lean techniques in this environment.

A popular furniture company in Italy is selected for the longitudinal action research and as a part of the lean project, workload control (WLC) is deployed in the selected company. Data were collected through on-site interviews, potential areas of improvement were identified and then suitable countermeasures were proposed and adopted.

This study reveals that the implementation of lean techniques including WLC in a furniture company reduces the throughput time and improves the inventory turnover.

This research is based on a single company. Additional empirical studies can help to refine our proposition.

The paper shows the practical implementation of WLC as a part of the lean project in MTO-MTS environment. It provides the practitioners and consultants with the way of implementing lean techniques in companies that are planning to adopt MTO-MTS hybrid strategy.

This is the first paper that aims to assess the efficiency of the adaption of WLC based on lean principles in a company using MTO-MTS hybrid strategy. Hence, the results are highly valuable for similar companies, especially when are facing transition situations (e.g. from MTS to MTO-MTS).

While Digitalisation is gaining momentum among practitioners and the scientific world, there is still a struggle to embark on the digitalisation journey successfully. The struggles are more significant for SMEs compared to large companies. Such transformation could face internal resistance, which evokes the need to put it into a socio-technical perspective such as lean. This paper investigates how SMEs could implement digital tools and technologies in their operations.

We relied on a multiple case study design in three SME manufacturing companies in Italy. Based on the experience of those companies, the struggles in the implementation and the lessons learned, we formulate an implementation model of digital tools driven by lean thinking.

Companies tend to implement first digital tools that help with real-time data collection and stress that introducing digital tools becomes challenging without reducing waste in production. The model stresses top management commitment, middle-line involvement and operator training to resist change. All these factors coincide with socio-technical lean bundles developed by seminal works. In addition, the study highlights that financial incentives are not necessarily the common barrier to digital tools implementation in SMEs but rather the cultural aspect.

Our paper enriches the extant body of knowledge by deriving knowledge around digitalisation implementation through lessons learned and corrective actions. It allows managers to benchmark and compare the current state of the implementation process with that of other companies and the one proposed to make corrective actions when necessary.

The purpose of this study is to identify the critical readiness factors (CRFs) that mainly affect the implementation of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in an organization and their interactions, and to develop a model that allows the management to assess the Lean Implementation Readiness Level.

The methodology is separated into two main parts: the literature review and the assessment model development. In the literature review, the main CRFs and their interactions for LSS implementation in Scopus Data Base were identified. The second part of the methodology is the model development. It was built on a stepwise framework that considers the relations among the CRFs and their importance. Moreover, it was used fuzzy-based linguistic variables given by the experts working in the company to consider the actual performance rating of each CRF. The model has been validated in the healthcare sector in nine hospitals.

From the model application, it is possible to note that the most frequent level among the nine hospitals interviewed is “Average Ready”. Also, the most extreme level of readiness occurred ones while the most extreme level of not readiness never occurred. Results show that in 78% of the cases, there would have been a high probability of implementation failure. Also, it was possible to identify for each hospital if the CRFs are good, if they are weak and need to change or if another factor needs to be improved before it and what this factor is.

This work proposes a new methodology that eliminates the negative aspects and limitations of the total interpretive structural modeling methodology and the fuzzy logic approach currently applied to evaluate the LSS readiness of a company. The present methodology lies in the fact that it provides a solution not only by defining the weak CRFs but also by giving an indication of priority as it identifies the weak antecedent factors that inhibit the preparedness of the depending factors.

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.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

This paper demonstrated that lean management is a critical element that can lead to improved business performance within manufacturing.

The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

This work aims to explore the relationship between entrepreneurial ecosystems' (EEs) inputs and outcomes within a digital-technology-driven EE. Specifically, it focuses on how being part of an EE enhances digital technology adoption (DTA) and consequently facilitates EE outcomes.

This paper employs a single-case study approach, focusing on Italian EE. The data analysis is based on the researchers' direct observations and semi-structured interviews with the EE founders' teams and the top management of the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating therein. Given the novelty of the topic and the lack of a clear research framework of analysis, a qualitative method is well suited for studying digital-technology-driven EE, thus gaining rich data about the phenomenon in a real-life context.

The findings of the study reveal that when specific eco-inputs (financial, knowledge, social and institutional assets) are correctly exploited to enhance DTA, important outcomes, namely, SME competitiveness and new technology-based venture creation and development, are generated.

The paper contributes to a relatively unexplored topic in the existing literature on EEs and digital technology. Specifically, through the proposition of a conceptual model, it sheds light on the relationship among EE inputs, DTA and EE outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of the relationship between intellectual capital (IC) and economic performance, with focus on social cooperative enterprises (SCEs) that work in non-profit sectors.

A survey was developed and administered in Italy. A final sample of 151 SCEs participated in the study. Data were collected on IC measures, social enterprise activities and economic and mission-based performance outcomes.

Two hypotheses that proposed a positive association between IC sub-components (i.e. human capital, structural capital and relational capital) and the economic and mission-based performance of SCEs were tested. Findings highlight that human capital contributes to explain economic performance which is positively affected by the presence of graduate employees and value added per employee. However, economic performance is negatively affected by the yearly training per employee. In addition, human and relational capital contribute to explain mission-based performance which is positively affected by yearly training, the value added per employee and the quality of relationships with customers. However, mission-based performance is negatively affected by the relationships’ quality with the reference territorial community. Therefore, relational capital would seem to affect only mission-based performance, and human capital influences both dimensions of corporate performance. Structural capital does not affect social cooperatives’ performance.

Some of the results in this study are particular to this research setting. It is therefore important for senior leaders of SCEs to take the results of general IC literature with a grain of salt. Whereas most of the academic literature generally supports the positive relationship of all IC sub-components (i.e. human, structural and relational capital) with performance outcomes, this is not the case in this particular study.

This is the first empirical study that has examined the linkages between IC sub-components and performance outcomes in SCEs in Italy.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the experience of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 certified companies, examining their motivations to introduce the standard and their perceived benefits and barriers. In parallel, the research investigated the knowledge and perception of ISO 9004 guideline, analyzing if it could give an added value to certified companies.

A questionnaire was proposed by e-mail to 2,581 Italian ISO 9001 certified companies from January 18 to March 31, 2016; 522 companies participated to the survey.

Companies of different size have been driven by different motivations to certification, reaching different types of benefits, while both large and small ones perceived the greater bureaucratization as an obstacle. The ISO 9004 standard is little known and applied among Italian companies, but the ones which adopted it benefited from it.

A limitation may be derived from the fact that the sample was composed only of Italian companies, although this effect was to understand perceptions and trends of these international standards in the Italian reality.

Analyzing perceived advantages and disadvantages of ISO 9001 and 9004 could be crucial for managers to understand if their joint use is the right strategy to gain competitiveness in the reference markets.

Compared to previous studies in which ISO 9001 was evaluated as a stand-alone standard, the research made a comparative evaluation with ISO 9004, as ISO considers them to be “consistent pair of standards,” covering the literature gap about the effectiveness of the joint use of them.