Do green practices and technologies mediate lean manufacturing’s impact on industrial performance? Evidence from the European manufacturing survey
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the mediating role that green practices (GPs) and green technologies (GTs) play in the relationship between lean manufacturing (LM) and industrial performance (IP). It is suggested that GPs and GTs are crucial for transforming lean routines into enhanced performance that simultaneously meet current environmental requirements.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses are tested using a mixed methodology, which includes a partial least squares structural equation modeling approach and a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) applied to a multisectoral sample from three European countries (Spain, Sweden and Croatia).
Findings
The results confirm that GPs mediate the relationship between LM and IP; however, in the case of GTs, this mediation does not appear to occur, although GTs emerge as a peripheral condition in the subsequent fsQCA. These findings highlight the need to avoid an exclusively technocentric approach and underscore the importance of implementing green organizational practices alongside technology investments to achieve successful lean initiatives.
Practical implications
It seems clear that managers should apply GPs, combined with LM, to improve sustainability and efficiency and should apply GTs once a more mature lean-green culture has been established.
Originality/value
In recent years, the scientific community has increasingly focused on the impact of implementing GPs and GTs on IP within LM plants. However, to the authors’ knowledge, no study has yet analyzed the combined effect of both initiatives. This paper seeks to address this gap by examining, in aggregate, the moderating effect of GPs and GTs on IP in LM plants.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express our gratitude to the editors and anonymous reviewers for their valuable time and insightful comments, which have significantly contributed to improving the quality of this paper. The authors also wish to extend our appreciation to the participants of the ACEDE International Conference for their constructive feedback and discussions, which were instrumental in refining the ideas presented here. Furthermore, the authors are grateful to the team at ECOBAS for their collaboration and support.
Funding: This work has received financial support from the R&D project PID2022-136983NB-I00, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER, EU and by the Galician Government ED431C 2022/37.
Citation
Llach, J., León-Mateos, F.J., Depino-Besada, N. and Sartal, A. (2024), "Do green practices and technologies mediate lean manufacturing’s impact on industrial performance? Evidence from the European manufacturing survey", International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLSS-01-2024-0008
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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