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This study aims to identify, analyze and rank the critical success factors (CSFs) of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) implementation in Indian manufacturing sector based micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This study provides critical insight for managers and researchers aspiring for successful implementation of LSS in Indian manufacturing MSMEs.

The CSFs were extracted from literature followed by a questionnaire-based survey from 120 industry professionals with extensive knowledge and experience about LSS working in Indian manufacturing MSMEs. Further, the CSFs were grouped based on their fundamental relevance and ranked using best worst method (BWM) approach using inputs from LSS experts.

This study provides insights on success factors that have helped Indian manufacturing MSMEs to implement LSS. The findings signify that “Strategy based CSFs” were ranked as the top most important factors, followed by two other category factors namely “Bottom-Line CSFs” and “Supplier based and other category-based CSFs”.

The proposed research is specifically relevant to the context of MSMEs in the Indian manufacturing sector. In the future, the same approach can be extended to a global context, encompassing service sector-based MSMEs in healthcare and finance.

This study provides valuable inputs for managers, decision-makers, industrial practitioners and researchers about Indian manufacturing MSMEs. The identified CSFs and their prioritization offer a roadmap for successful adoption of LSS. Managers can allocate resources, and make strategic decisions based on the prioritized CSFs. Decision-makers can align their initiatives with the identified CSFs. Industrial practitioners gain insights to enhance their LSS initiatives, and researchers can focus their efforts on areas critical to LSS implementation in Indian MSMEs. Furthermore, the structured approach employed in this study can be adopted by various MSME sectors globally, thereby broadening the comprehension of LSS implementation.

This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by addressing the gaps in literature on CSFs related to LSS adoption within Indian manufacturing MSMEs. While LSS has been widely studied, there is limited focus on its adoption in the context of Indian MSMEs. The combination of extensive literature review, questionnaire-based survey and the application of the BWM approach for prioritizing CSFs adds originality to the research.