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The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the first global empirical study on the roles/ responsibilities and skills of Six Sigma Black Belts (SSBBs), followed by the most recent trends on an effective Black Belt (BB) training curriculum.

The study is based on a survey questionnaire which was designed and distributed to (primarily) SSBBs around the world. A total of 105 responses from 14 different countries were received.

The results of the study show that change agent and advocate on the use of statistical tools are being considered as the most significant roles that a Black Belt undertakes. Additionally, analytical skills followed by expertise in Six Sigma method (DMAIC) along with all the related tools and techniques top the ranking with the most important skills that BBs should acquire. In terms of BB training, basic statistics appears to be the most important prerequisite, while the inclusion of soft skills in the BB curricula is being strongly supported. Finally, a consultation session after the formal training appears to be highly desired.

This study identifies the roles/ responsibilities that BBs should hold in organisations operating in the 21st century and the skills they should acquire. The findings are presented as a set of criteria on how to develop the world class Black Belts of the future. Companies and recruitment agencies could benefit from spotting the most talented BBs, resulting in cost savings in the recruiting and training processes.

Contribution is being made by identifying the most commonly cited roles/ responsibilities in the literature and comparing them to the practitioners’ views. A comparison on the characteristics of the currently provided BB training curricula and those of the best possible training program is also presented.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) associated with the Six Sigma (SS) implementation in companies operating in Brazil.

The research was tested based on survey questionnaire responses from a sample of 45 Brazilian manufacturing and services companies that have implemented SS programmes. An exploratory factorial analysis (EFA) was conducted to statistically identify conclusions regarding CSFs in SS implementation.

Based on the survey of empirical data, the investigated individual CSFs were reduced in five main critical factor categories: data availability, prior infrastructure and training, goals and gains, implementation of the solution and resistance to change. They have been shown to be the extremely important factors for SS implementation in Brazilian companies.

This study helps SS managers focus on the most effective factors (best practices) in SS implementation. Consequently, this may guide a company’s resources allocation and efforts to guarantee a successful SS implementation.

Despite a vast body of literature in SS CSFs, this paper demonstrates those factors within a Brazilian context. Moreover, the tested content of this study fills the research gap by providing reliable and useful CSFs of SS implementation, which contributes to increase the external validity of the SS construct. On top of that, although the results reinforce the importance of well-known, traditional CSFs in SS implementation, they also identify contingent factors related to risk perception, which are barely mentioned in previous literature.

This paper aims to identify and review the critical success factors (CSFs) for successful Six Sigma implementation in service and manufacturing companies given in published literature.

A descriptive evaluation of the literature body is followed by future research opportunities. Studies published on the topic of Six Sigma during 2005-2016 are reviewed to retrieve identified CSFs.

From published literature, 48 CSFs vital for Six Sigma implementation were identified. The identified CSFs were classified under eight core categories. As per the categorization, 35 out of 48 CSFs identified are either Company Strategy related, Six Sigma Project related or Human Resources related. Only a limited number of studies are carried out mainly focusing on the stated three core areas. Hence, it is vital that these three core areas are further explored in future research.

With the outcome of this paper, the identified CSFs for Six Sigma will be taken for further studies, where they will be applied to service and manufacturing companies based in Sri Lanka. Hence, it would provide Sri Lankan service and manufacturing companies guidelines for successful implementation of Six Sigma for future endeavors.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Six Sigma implementation in the subsidiaries of General Electric (GE) located in Brazil and to explore the role of the quality culture of headquarters in overcoming common obstacles to Six Sigma implementation reported by other studies.

An exploratory survey was the basis for gathering data for this study. A structured questionnaire was developed covering issues related to Six Sigma implementation, such as experienced benefits, main outcomes, and metrics adopted by companies. Data from eight GE subsidiaries were qualitatively analyzed. The findings were discussed in the light of other studies conducted in Brazil as well as in other developing countries in the context of the role of existing quality culture in overcoming barriers to Six Sigma implementation.

The findings revealed that Six Sigma at GE subsidiaries achieved better results in comparison with the results obtained by other Brazilian companies reported in the literature. GE quality culture aspects such as top management commitment, high investment in training, recognition schemes, and development of a well-planned infrastructure were identified as valuable to overcome common barriers to Six Sigma implementation. Moreover, the findings showed a strong alignment with the goals and practices of GE headquarters, which is an evidence of the quality culture that exists in GE and that allows all GE businesses achieve benefits with Six Sigma.

Since limited empirical research has been conducted concerning Six Sigma implementation in developing countries, this paper aspires to contribute to Six Sigma body of knowledge by illustrating the practices of a world benchmark corporation.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the relationship between Six Sigma methodology and organisational ambidexterity (exploitation and exploration orientations). For this purpose, this study describes how Six Sigma practices may enhance both orientations simultaneously, contributing to organisational ambidexterity and performance improvements.

A systematic literature review was adopted as the research methodology. The authors analysed 512 publications in Social Science Citation Index journals in fields such as management, business, operation research management science, planning development, behavioural sciences, interdisciplinary social sciences and applied psychology from 1987 to 2016, as the first development and adoption of Six Sigma was in 1987 by Motorola.

This analysis describes how Six Sigma emphasises not only useful practices for exploitation orientation, such as customer input, design for manufacturability or improvement and control of processes, but also explorative practices, such as discovery, novelty or innovation. Consequently, an adequate combination of all these practices may enhance organisational ambidexterity and organisational success.

This study relies exclusively on previously published literature that fulfilled the selection criteria described in the search methodology. Further empirical research is necessary to test the propositions included in this paper.

This study has important implications for academics, practitioners and employers, as it furnishes new theoretical insights to the scarce literature that studies the relationship between quality management practices and organisational ambidexterity. The authors provide a better understanding of Six Sigma philosophy and some fresh and new insight on how Six Sigma practices may help organisation develop distinctive competitive competences by its influence over exploration and exploitation orientations (ambidexterity). Therefore, it might be of interest to those practitioners interested in achieving a successful competitive position and discover emerging business opportunities, as it may provide some guidance on the important implication of Six Sigma practices over exploration and exploitation orientations.

This study provides new insights into the non-existent literature about Six Sigma and organisational ambidexterity and to the scarce literature about quality management and ambidexterity. Propositions on how Six Sigma practices benefit organisational ambidexterity are also suggested.