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Article
Publication date: 23 May 2008

Katsuki Aoki

The purpose of this paper is to examine management practices in transferring Japanese kaizen activities to overseas plants. The aim is to provide a greater understanding of…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine management practices in transferring Japanese kaizen activities to overseas plants. The aim is to provide a greater understanding of organisational capabilities that facilitate an incremental organisation‐wide innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

Case studies of nine medium‐ and large‐sized Japanese auto‐parts overseas plants in China were conducted. The data were analysed by comparing the successful cases of management practices concerning the transfer of Japanese kaizen activities to overseas plants with unsuccessful ones. Based on the assumption that learning is situated in the context, the concept of communities of practice promoted by Wenger is used as the analytical framework of this study.

Findings

The results of the comparative analysis show some common characteristics of management practices in successful cases: they actively used team‐based rather than individual‐based suggestion schemes; they had human resource practices that emphasised the importance of having workers who could do more than one job and long‐term employment; and the managers of successful cases conducted shop floor visits to check the work processes every day.

Originality/value

This study suggests the necessity for the researchers and practitioners of kaizen to consider a healthy balance between three types of organisational capabilities that encourage workers' self‐initiative, facilitate cross‐functional communication, and discipline workers.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 28 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

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Article
Publication date: 10 April 2018

José Álvarez-García, Amador Durán-Sánchez and María de la Cruz del Río-Rama

Since Masaaki Imai coined the term Kaizen in the mid-1980s, it has been seen as a key element for the competitiveness of Japanese companies, and it is currently a widely discussed…

511

Abstract

Purpose

Since Masaaki Imai coined the term Kaizen in the mid-1980s, it has been seen as a key element for the competitiveness of Japanese companies, and it is currently a widely discussed philosophy and is applied in a wide range of organizations throughout the world. The purpose of this paper is to serve as guidance for researchers who are developing their studies in the field of the Kaizen philosophy, in order to improve their knowledge on the most relevant articles, the most productive authors or the key scientific journals that make up this subject.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to fulfill the proposed objective, a descriptive bibliometric study was carried out with the analysis of citations from 138 articles included in the multidisciplinary database Scopus (Elsevier) until 2016. For the search of documents, a tracking strategy was chosen that allowed for the development of the ad hoc database required to analyze each of the basic variables of the bibliometric indicators.

Findings

The results obtained show a growing interest of the scientific community in its study in the last decade, as shown by the significant increase in citations received by articles, despite the reduction in the number of papers published in the last two years.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitations are derived from the choice of a specific database, as well as the specific search equation.

Originality/value

The study presents an in-depth analysis of the current state of research regarding the Kaizen philosophy through its bibliometric study, providing useful information for academics and professionals by providing a series of significant indicators to measure the bibliographic material.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 30 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

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