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This paper gives the background to the ISO 18404:2015 standard and explains its rationale. It aims to rebut the Oudrhiri et al. (2022) paper. Furthermore, this paper adds further evidence of the misplacement and unfitness for use of the standard, as evidenced in the previous work by Antony et al. (2021, 2022).

A point-counterpoint methods approach with a literature review of studies available on ISO 18404:2015 to respond to the Oudrhiri et al. (2022) study.

The findings indicate that Oudrhiri et al.'s (2022) work is not open minded in relation to ISO18404. Each point raised in the Oudrhiri et al. (2020) study has been answered and counter argued.

Other than Antony et al.'s three studies (2021 and 2022) and Oudrhiri et al.’s (2022) study empirical studies looking into the impact of the ISO 18404 standard in the literature were limited. As the literature has shown, many companies are not utilising the standard given its current format; hence, a lack of information relating to the practical implementation is sparse.

The findings indicate that Oudrhiri et al.'s (2022) work can be answered and counter argued.

This study consolidates and strengthens the findings from the three studies by Antony et al. (2021 and 2022) and acts as a rebuttal to the Oudrhiri et al. (2022) study.

This paper aims to provide new and valuable insights for organizations that have decided to implement Lean Six Sigma (LSS) as a strategy for continuous improvement in search of business excellence. This objective is achieved through statistically modeling the causal relationships between the critical success factors (CSFs) of LSS for a successful deployment of this strategy.

A statistically validated questionnaire was used to collect information from LSS practitioners in manufacturing industries located on Mexico’s northern border. Some hypotheses for relationships between LSS CSFs are developed theoretically first and empirically tested later using the structural equation modeling technique.

Proposed relationships between LSS CSFs have been demonstrated to be statistically significant, making clear that this implementation should always begin with a strong and decided participation and commitment of top management. Later, other CSFs must be activated and put into operation in a specified order to increase the probability of a successful implementation reflected in well-executed continuous improvement projects and achieving the expected benefits.

This paper proposes a structural model which has been statistically validated with information directly collected from skilled practitioners who have developed continuous improvement projects using the LSS methodology. Further, some relationships between LSS CSFs that, to the best of the author’s knowledge, had not been demonstrated empirically are now explored and verified in our work.

The integration of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) is in the nascent stage and promises to achieve new optimums in operational excellence. This study aims to empirically examine the enablers, barriers, benefits and application of I4.0 technologies in LSS and I4.0 integration.

A pilot survey was chosen as an appropriate methodology, as LSS and I4.0 integration is still budding. The survey targeted senior quality management professionals, quality managers, team leaders, LSS Black Belts and operations managers to collect the relevant research data. The questionnaire was sent to 200 respondents and received 53 valid responses.

This study reveals that “top management support” is an essential enabler for LSS and I4.0 integration. The most significant barrier was “poor understanding of data analysis” and “lack of top management support”. The findings further illustrated that LSS and I4.0 integration resulted in greater efficiency, lower operational costs, improved productivity, improved customer satisfaction and improved quality. Regarding I4.0 technology integration at different phases of LSS, the authors noticed that big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) are the most prominent technologies used in all phases of LSS implementation.

One of the limitations of this study is the sample size. LSS and I4.0 are emerging concepts; hence, obtaining a larger sample size is difficult. In addition, the study used non-parametric tests to analyse the data. Therefore, future studies should be conducted with large sample sizes across different continents and countries to understand differences in the key findings.

The outcomes of this study can be useful for organisational managers to understand the enablers and barriers before integrating LSS and I4.0 for adoption in their organisations. Secondly, it helps to convince top management and human resource personnel by providing a list of benefits of LSS and I4.0 integration. Finally, it can help decision-makers understand which I4.0 technologies can be used in different stages of LSS methodology.

LSS and I4.0 integration was studied at a conceptual level. This is the first empirical study targeted toward understanding the LSS and I4.0 integration. In addition, this study investigates the application of widely used I4.0 technologies in different phases of LSS.

The purpose of this global study is to investigate the critical failure factors (CFFs) in the deployment of operational excellence (OPEX) programs as well as the key performance indicators (KPIs) that can be used to measure OPEX failures. The study also empirically analyzes various OPEX methodologies adopted by various organizations at a global level.

This global study utilized an online survey to collect data. The questionnaire was sent to 800 senior managers, resulting in 249 useful responses.

The study results suggest that Six Sigma is the most widely utilized across the OPEX methodologies, followed by Lean Six Sigma and Lean. Agile manufacturing is the least utilized OPEX methodology. The top four CFFs were poor project selection and prioritization, poor leadership, a lack of proper communication and resistance to change issues.

This study extends the current body of knowledge on OPEX by first delineating the CFFs for OPEX and identifying the differing effects of these CFFs across various organizational settings. Senior managers and OPEX professionals can use the findings to take remedial actions and improve the sustainability of OPEX initiatives in their respective organizations.

This study uniquely identifies critical factors leading to OPEX initiative failures, providing practical insights for industry professionals and academia and fostering a deeper understanding of potential pitfalls. The research highlights a distinctive focus on social and environmental performance metrics, urging a paradigm shift for sustained OPEX success and differentiating itself in addressing broader sustainability concerns. By recognizing the interconnectedness of 12 CFFs, the study offers a pioneering foundation for future research and the development of a comprehensive management theory on OPEX failures.

This study aims to investigate how early and late adopters of Quality 4.0 (Q4.0) differ in terms of organizational performance.

The authors employed a grounded theory approach for interviewing 15 senior managers from diverse organizational contexts throughout the globe as part of their qualitative research methodology.

The research's findings were analyzed based on four types of performance: operational, financial, environmental and social. It was clear that early adopters of Q4.0 were sustaining superior performance in quality over time, even though their investment was significantly higher than that of late adopters. From a financial viewpoint, it was evident that early adopters had a competitive edge over their rivals compared to late adopters. Late adopters have utilized the notion of the circular economy (CE) more effectively than many early adopters in the context of environmental performance in order to establish a green economy and sustainable development.

Although the results of the interview indicate that Q4.0 is having some positive effects on social performance, in the authors' view, it is still least understood from an empirical standpoint.

The study's findings assist organizations in comprehending the performance differences between Q4.0 early adopters and late adopters.

This study aims to carry out a systematic literature review (SLR) on the integration of Lean, Industry 4.0 and the supply chain or the Lean Supply Chain (LSC) 4.0. The research analyses the current research on the LSC 4.0 concept in an increasingly digitalised world. The authors present the benefits, motivations, critical success factors and challenges of integrating the LSC with Industry 4.0 technologies within this emerging area of research.

An SLR is carried out on how Lean can be integrated with Supply Chain 4.0. Using the search strings of “Lean Supply Chain 4.0,” “Lean Supply Chain Management 4.0” and “Lean Supply Chain Digitalisation,” a review of published literature was carried out via searches on academic databases.

Industry 4.0 has a synergistic effect on the LSC and, depending on the technology and sector applied in, can complement and enhance the LSC. Similarly, the LSC is a precursor for digitalisation. There are considerable implications in the LSC 4.0 for green and sustainable processes.

Organisations can use this study to understand what the LSC 4.0 means to industry, the benefits and motivating factors for implementation, the critical success factors (CSFs) to implementation and the challenges for implementation.

This study adds to state of the art around the LSC 4.0 and future directions in this nascent research area. This study will aid organisations in understanding how Lean, supply chain management and Industry 4.0 can be integrated.

Quality management (QM) plays a pivotal role in driving organisational efforts to enhance operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. This study aims to explore the most important themes in QM over the past three decades, identifying and analysing the top ten key themes that have shaped the field during this period. This study, involving leading academics and industry practitioners, lays the groundwork for a three-to-four-year exploration of the most influential QM themes worldwide.

The authors conducted a comprehensive review of QM literature over the last three decades from top specialist journals on QM. This is followed by conducting a global pilot survey with leading academics and practitioners to pinpoint the top ten dominant themes of QM for organisations to leverage in gaining and maintaining a competitive edge.

The top ten themes of QM, as identified by authors through input from academics and practitioners worldwide, offer valuable insights for companies of all sizes and sectors. These themes serve as a guide for the successful and sustainable implementation of QM practices and continuous improvement strategies.

Despite a limited sample size, the initial findings provide a glimpse into critical themes. Over the next three years, as the study progresses, we anticipate potential changes in the results. Notably, the comparison of themes between manufacturing and services as well as large and small enterprises, remains unexplored in the current investigation.

The authors of this study assert that their research will pave the way for future themes in the digitalization era. Moreover, this research stands out as one of the most exhaustive examinations from both academic and practitioner viewpoints, offering a unique perspective not commonly found in existing literature.

This study investigates the readiness for and understanding of Industry 4.0 in a pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Utilising qualitative interviews within a single-site case study in a pharmaceutical organisation, the understanding of Industry 4.0 and the challenges, benefits and critical success factors for Industry 4.0 readiness therein and applications of Industry 4.0 are assessed.

The research findings found that Industry 4.0 implementation has implications for regulatory compliance and enhancing operational excellence on the site. The Pharma site is embracing Industry 4.0 technologies, particularly for paperless systems and data collation and analytics, but the site is somewhat of a late adaptor of Industry 4.0 implementation and is on a path towards increased digitalisation.

A limitation of the study is that it is a single-site case study, but the results can be generalisable in demonstrating how Industry 4.0 is being deployed and its challenges and benefits.

This study is unique and novel because to the authors knowledge, it is one of the first studies on Industry 4.0 readiness and status in an Irish Pharma site within a single pharmaceutical organisation. This study can be leveraged and benchmarked by all pharmaceutical organisations as it demonstrates the complexity of Industry 4.0 deployment from a highly regulated and complex pharmaceutical manufacturing and processing viewpoint.

Many healthcare institutions, such as hospitals, have recently implemented quality improvement initiatives such as Lean Six Sigma (LSS). However, only a few have sustained the initiatives and remained successful. One of the main reasons for the failure of LSS implementation is that managers tend to view LSS as individual projects. Managers lack a Change Management (CM) focus during the implementation. The primary purpose of this study is to document the implementation of LSS through a CM approach to improve sustainability.

Define-Measure-Analyse-Improve-Control (DMAIC) and the Awareness-Desire-Knowledge-Ability-Reinforcement (ADKAR), a popular CM approach, are combined to propose a new framework. The usefulness of the proposed framework is demonstrated using a case study in a multispeciality hospital located in southern India.

The study found that several factors are responsible for the high Length of Stay (LOS) for patients in the Emergency Department (ED). By implementing this proposed model to implement LSS and taking corrective actions, the average LOS was reduced from 267 to 158 min (a 40% reduction approximately).

The complete step-by-step approach is explained, and the LOS was considerably reduced during the pilot project. The findings will provide valuable insights for healthcare practitioners to understand the steps involved in the combined DMAIC-ADKAR model. The findings would also give healthcare practitioners the confidence to identify suitable tools and implement LSS in organisations where the practitioners work.

According to the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that synergises two models (DMAIC and ADKAR) into a single framework to implement in a hospital.

This qualitative study aims to explore the concept of organisational leadership in the context of Quality Management deployments across a variety of business organisations, particularly focusing on the possible relationships between leadership approaches during the implementation and sustaining phases of Quality Management.

The study is based on one-to-one semi-structured virtual interviews with leaders in the quality field.

Four themes (Customers, Leadership, Quality Culture and Sustainability of Quality) emerged from the post-interview data analysis, illustrating the critical role of Leadership in the successful deployment and sustainment of Quality Management and identifying the leadership traits that are most conducive to successful organisational deployments.

Although some of these leadership traits are described in the wider leadership literature as belonging to one or more different leadership styles, there is no existing style of leadership that comprehends all the characteristics; thus, the need for a new leadership paradigm is this paper's theoretical contribution to the literature.