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Article
Publication date: 1 October 2002

Henrik S. Kristensen

279

Abstract

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Foresight, vol. 4 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6689

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 October 2022

Thomas Borup Kristensen, Henrik Saabye and Amy Edmondson

The purpose of this study is to empirically test how problem-solving lean practices, along with leaders as learning facilitators in an action learning approach, can be transferred…

8395

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to empirically test how problem-solving lean practices, along with leaders as learning facilitators in an action learning approach, can be transferred from a production context to a knowledge work context for the purpose of becoming a learning organization while enhancing performance. This is important to study because many organizations struggle to enhance efficiency in the short term while still trying to be long-term learning oriented (i.e. learning organization development).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw on theory on learning interventions to show how lean practices for problem-solving can foster learning and help an organization to become adaptive. This study’s subject is a non-production department of 100 employees at the LEGO corporation. The authors applied survey results from a natural experiment lasting 18 months between a pre-measurement survey and a post-measurement survey. The results were compared to a control department of 50 employees who were not exposed to the lean practices intervention. The authors’ focus was on the individual level as individuals have different perceptions of lean practices, performance, and learning.

Findings

Using repeated-measures tests, difference-in-difference regressions analyses, and structural equation models, the authors find that a package of contemporary lean practices for problem-solving, along with leaders who function as learning facilitators, significantly improved learning organization dimensions while also enhancing efficiency and quality and that learning organizations positively mediate the relationship between the lean intervention and quality-related performance, while efficiency is directly affected by the lean interventions. Data from LEGO's key performance indicators (KPIs), benefit trackers, on-site observations and more than 40 interviews with managers provided results that were consistent with the survey data. A detailed description of the lean practices implemented is provided to inspire future implementations in non-operations environments and to assist educators.

Research limitations/implications

The authors contribute to the learning literature by showing that a learning-to-learn approach to lean management can serve as an active and deliberate intervention in helping an organization becoming a learning organization as perceived by the individual organizational members. The authors also add to the lean literature by showing how a learning approach to lean, as used by LEGO, can positively affect short-term efficiency and quality and create a foundation for a longer-term competitive advantage (i.e. a learning organization) in a non-production context. By contrast, most of the lean literature streams treat efficiency separately from a learning organization and mainly examine lean in a production context.

Originality/value

The extant literature shows three research streams on lean, learning, and performance. The authors built on these streams by trying to emphasize both learning and efficiency. Prior research has not empirically tested whether and how the application of problem-solving lean practices combined with leaders as learning facilitators helps to create a comprehensive learning organization while enhancing performance in a non-production context.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 42 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

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Article
Publication date: 20 February 2018

Henrik Nielsen, Thomas Borup Kristensen and Lawrence P. Grasso

The purpose of this paper is to study management control mechanisms (social, behavioral, and output control mechanisms) and their complementary effects on firm performance in lean…

2398

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study management control mechanisms (social, behavioral, and output control mechanisms) and their complementary effects on firm performance in lean manufacturing firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses second-order structural equation modeling to analyze survey data from 368 different lean manufacturing facilities.

Findings

The paper finds that the complementary effects of management control mechanisms in lean manufacturing firms outweigh their additive effects on firm performance.

Research limitations/implications

Applying isolated lean management control mechanisms leads to inferior performance, as these management control mechanisms are complementary. Thus, to realize the full potential of lean manufacturing, this paper suggests that lean management control mechanisms should be implemented as an integrated control system.

Practical implications

Firms seeking to benefit from the implementation of lean manufacturing should understand the complementarity among the management control mechanisms, as the performance effects of lean management control mechanisms when applied together are greater than their isolated additive effects.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to provide empirical evidence of the superior firm performance effects of complementary lean management control mechanisms compared with their additive effects. This paper also expands the understanding of how to conceptualize lean management control mechanisms. Specifically, this is the first paper to distinguish between social cultural control and social visual control mechanisms as well as between non-financial and financial control mechanisms. This paper is also the first to use a second-order structural equation model to properly test and account for the complementary effects on firm performance that stem from multiple control mechanisms.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 38 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

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Article
Publication date: 15 June 2010

Jacob Eskildsen, Kai Kristensen and Henrik Gjesing Antvor

This paper aims to focus on the relationship between job satisfaction and national culture. Many studies have reported differences in job satisfaction between countries but none…

12280

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on the relationship between job satisfaction and national culture. Many studies have reported differences in job satisfaction between countries but none has included national culture as a mediating variable. The paper seeks to attempt to do exactly that by relating data from the European Employee Index™ to Hofstede's national scores on five dimensions of national culture.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis covers 22 nations with a job satisfaction sample size of more than 25,000 respondents. The satisfaction data are subsequently related to Hofstede's national scores on five dimensions of national culture.

Findings

The analysis demonstrates that national culture does influence the result of job satisfaction studies.

Research limitations/implications

It is important to note that the managerial implications of these findings are limited to some extent. A multinational company conducting job satisfaction studies in different national settings cannot influence the scores on the cultural dimensions. There are no managerial actions that can be taken to eliminate the influence that national culture has on a job satisfaction study.

Practical implications

The managerial consequences are that it is virtually meaningless to compare the results from a cross‐national job satisfaction study without considering the impact that national culture has on the results. It would be much better to follow Deming's advice on performance appraisal. According to this organizational units from different cultures should be evaluated in relation to their ability to improve job satisfaction instead of being compared without taking national culture into account.

Originality/value

The paper gives a theoretical explanation for the influence that national culture has on national job satisfaction levels as well as on other evaluations of job‐related aspects and confirms the theoretical considerations through empirical analyses.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 22 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 January 2022

Henrik Saabye, Thomas Borup Kristensen and Brian Vejrum Wæhrens

This paper investigates how manufacturers can develop a learning-to-learn capability for enabling Industry 4.0 adoption.

4072

Abstract

Purpose

This paper investigates how manufacturers can develop a learning-to-learn capability for enabling Industry 4.0 adoption.

Design/methodology/approach

This research design is guided by our research question: How can manufacturers develop a learning-to-learn capability that enables Industry 4.0 adoption? The authors adopt action research to generate actionable knowledge from a two-year-long action learning intervention at the Danish rooftop window manufacturer VELUX.

Findings

Drawing on emergent insights from the action learning intervention, it was found that a learning-to-learn capability based on lean was a core construct and enabler for manufacturers to adopt Industry 4.0 successfully. Institutionalizing an organizational learning scaffold encompassing the intertwined learning processes of systems Alpha, Beta and Gamma served as a significant way to develop a learning-to-learn capability for Industry 4.0 adoption (systematic problem-solving abilities, leaders as learning facilitators, presence of a supportive learning environment and Industry 4.0 knowledge). Moreover, group coaching is a practical action learning intervention for invoking system Gamma and developing leaders to become learning facilitators – an essential leadership role during Industry 4.0 adoption.

Originality/value

The study contributes to theory and practice by adopting action research and action learning to explore learning-to-learn as a core construct for enabling Industry 4.0 adoption and providing a set of conditions for developing a learning-to-learn capability. Furthermore, the study reveals that leaders are required to act as learning facilitators instead of relying on learning about and implementing Industry 4.0 best practices for enabling adoption.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 42 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

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Article
Publication date: 7 July 2020

Henrik Nielsen and Thomas Borup Kristensen

This paper aims to study the relations between lean operations, lean principles in finance functions and the roles of finance functions.

1078

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to study the relations between lean operations, lean principles in finance functions and the roles of finance functions.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses structural equation modeling to analyze data from 408 different firms in the Danish production and services sectors. A dyadic approach is applied, as a sub-sample of 107 chief operating officers in the responding firms is used to investigate the construct validity, reliability and average deviation index of the instrument measuring the roles of finance functions.

Findings

The paper finds that lean-operation firms emphasize four different yet interdependent roles of finance functions. The paper also finds that lean operation leads to firms’ finance functions adopting lean principles.

Research limitations/implications

This paper characterizes lean-operation firms as contextually ambidextrous to predict relations between lean operation and roles of finance functions. The paper expands prior case study findings on the roles of finance functions in lean-operation firms, and the findings of the paper underline that finance functions continue to play an important role in these firms.

Practical implications

Decision-makers in lean-operation firms should not be hesitant with respect to integrating finance function workers into the lean operation. Furthermore, decision-makers should understand that a balanced emphasis of the roles of finance functions is necessary to avoid overemphasizing exploitation at the expense of exploration, or vice versa.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to provide large-scale evidence of the roles of finance functions in lean-operation firms and to show that lean principles diffuse to finance functions. Furthermore, the paper introduces a new instrument for measuring finance function roles, based on the competing values framework.

Details

European Business Review, vol. 32 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-534X

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Book part
Publication date: 10 February 2015

Peer Hull Kristensen

This paper is concerned to show how the Danish political elite interpreted and responded to the consequences of the 2008 financial crisis for the Danish economy. In particular…

Abstract

This paper is concerned to show how the Danish political elite interpreted and responded to the consequences of the 2008 financial crisis for the Danish economy. In particular, the paper describes how this interpretive construction focused primarily on three features of the Danish context to the exclusion of other perspectives; the first was an emphasis on the problems of the financial sector, of interest rates and state finances; the second was that Danish productivity increases were falling behind other comparable countries and part of the solution required new strategies towards labour and unemployment benefits; thirdly, the adverse effects of the crisis were causing an increase in government expenditure and a decline in government revenues which was rapidly becoming unsustainable. As a consequence, the Danish elite fell into the broader interpretation of the crisis embedded in the dominant view within the EU institutions as well as among the international financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, that a period of austerity and fiscal consolidation was the required remedy, even though this was likely to be pro-cyclical in its effects. However, the paper shows that alternative data which is more reflective of Denmark’s position in the global economy and the trajectory and form of its growth over the last decade reveals that the interpretation of the Danish elite has been too narrow and neglects the distinctive roots of Denmark’s competitive strengths. Indeed, by responding in the way which they have, the Danish elite is in danger of undermining the very conditions of Denmark’s competitiveness.

Details

Elites on Trial
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-680-5

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Article
Publication date: 2 May 2017

Henrik Agndal, Lars-Johan Åge and Jens Eklinder-Frick

This paper aims to present a review of articles on business negotiation published between 1995 and 2015.

5876

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present a review of articles on business negotiation published between 1995 and 2015.

Design/methodology/approach

This literature review is based on 490 articles on business negotiation.

Findings

When analyzing the conceptual underpinnings of this field, two paradigms emerge as dominant. The most prominent paradigm is a cognitive, psychological approach, typically relying on experiments and statistical testing of findings. The second dominating paradigm is a behavioral one, largely concerned with mathematical modeling and game-theoretical models.

Practical implications

Besides offering a description of the characteristics adhered to the business negotiation field, this paper will also suggest recommendations for further research and specify areas in which the research field needs further conceptual and empirical development.

Originality/value

This literature review serves to be the first representation of the characteristics adhered to the budding research field of business negotiation.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 32 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 April 2023

Henrik Saabye, Daryl John Powell and Paul Coughlan

Being acquainted with both lean and action learning in theory and in practice, this study finds that the theoretical complementarity of these two research streams has…

2686

Abstract

Purpose

Being acquainted with both lean and action learning in theory and in practice, this study finds that the theoretical complementarity of these two research streams has traditionally been underexploited. In this conceptual paper, this study aims to advance the theoretical understanding of lean by exploring the complementarity of lean thinking and action learning leading to a proposed integrated theory of these two research streams. Target audience is the operations management research community.

Design/methodology/approach

By deliberately adopting a process of theorising, this paper explores, reflects upon and combines individual experiences of researching, teaching and engaging in lean and action learning as operations management scholars.

Findings

Having taken a gemba walk through the literature and practices of lean and action learning, this study views and notices a systematic and complementary relationship between the two domains. The overlapping theoretical and practical complementarities of lean and action learning suggest that these two research streams are ripe for synthesis into an integrated theory. This finding provides an opportunity to (1) progress towards an integrative design of interventions leading to more sustainable lean system adoptions and (2) add new depth to our theoretical explanation of the success and failures of lean system adoptions.

Originality/value

This paper contributes an original integrated theory perspective on lean and action learning.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 43 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

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Article
Publication date: 31 July 2009

Henrik Simonsen

The aim of this paper is to discuss a theoretical framework for increased integration of a company's communication policy, corporate language policy and corporate information…

3508

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to discuss a theoretical framework for increased integration of a company's communication policy, corporate language policy and corporate information portal with a view to facilitating communication management.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on selected theoretical contributions on corporate language policy with special emphasis on theoretical considerations on the type of language policies developed and implemented in companies and organisations and on corporate communication with special emphasis on van Riel's common starting points. The empirical basis of the paper is a triangulation of questionnaire data, content analysis data and interview data.

Findings

The paper argues that corporate communication has not sufficiently included the operational part of a company's corporate communication. The paper makes the case for a theoretical integration framework based on van Riel's common starting points (CSPs), and argues that corporate communication also needs to include the corporate language policy and the corporate information portal, defined as a modern information directory offering communicators concrete communication data for use in concrete text production situations.

Originality/value

The paper proposes a CSP‐based theoretical integration framework and makes the case for a Holy Trinity in corporate communications based on the communication policy, the corporate language policy and the corporate information portal.

Details

Journal of Communication Management, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-254X

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