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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the associations between total quality management (TQM) core elements, knowledge management (KM) processes, and educational organization outcome with respect to academic performance (AP).

The study is based on a cross-sectional survey design. The survey was conducted on 87 colleges in Iraqi higher-education institutions (HEIs). Four main hypotheses were developed and tested statistically by applying multivariate data analyses.

The results provided evidence that both TQM core elements and KM processes should be implemented holistically. TQM core elements have a positive and significant impact on both KM processes and AP. Moreover, KM processes partially mediate the association between TQM core elements and AP.

Empirical research on the association between TQM, KM, and performance is very limited. This study provides insights and further understanding of the effect of TQM core elements on KM processes and AP, and therefore, allows decision makers to get in-depth knowledge about these associations and the mediating effect of KM in HEIs context.

Contradictory findings regarding the implication of Lean manufacturing (LM) implementation to business performance (BP) have been observed in prior studies. Hence, more studies are required to be capable of finding the status of LM implementation and its impacts on BP. Accordingly, this study examines and scrutinizes the effects of LM practices on the enhancement of BP from a developing country standpoint.

This empirical study uses a survey-based quantitative data collection approach through a cross-sectional research design. A total of 139 large manufacturing companies in Indonesia participated, selected through stratified random sampling technique. Three hypotheses regarding the effect of LM on BP were examined.

The results empirically reveal that comprehensive implementation of LM practices is necessary. Also, this study unravels that high BP (in terms of profitability, sales and customer satisfaction) is dependent upon the comprehensive implementation of LM practices. In other words, LM practices are not recommended to be implemented as a subset.

Although this study is free from the common method bias as an implication of self-reporting by single respondent from one company, future researchers should consider of collecting data from multiple individuals in one company. Additionally, due to the study conducted in limited industries and large manufacturing firms, the results may not be applicable in other industries as well as in small and medium enterprises.

This study has further confirmed and established the LM–BP relationship. In line with the complementarity theory, it provides an insight that all the LM practices should be implemented simultaneously in a holistic manner because they are mutually supportive. In such a situation, piecemeal adoption is highly not recommended.

This study emphasizes on how LM contributes to the superior BP. Meanwhile, little attention has been paid to investigate the LM and its implication on BP from a developing country standpoint. Thus, this study is initiated to fill the gap.

This study scrutinized the synergistic effects of lean manufacturing (LM) on lead time reduction (LR) while investigating the mediating role of manufacturing flexibility (MF) in that relationship within the context of batch and mass customization manufacturers.

This cross-sectional survey involved 160 large batch and mass customization manufacturers in Indonesia. Data were analyzed by using the PLS path modeling approach and multigroup analysis.

The positive synergistic direct effects of LM on LR and MF were revealed in both process types. In mass customization, MF mediates the effect of LM on LR. However, such a mediating effect was not found in the batch process due to the insignificant effect of MF on LR.

The findings offered theoretical and practical insights supporting the manufacturers to grasp potential benefits through the holistic LM implementation as well as the suitable strategies to improve MF and reduce lead time by considering the types of the production process.

This study bridged the gaps regarding the comparison of LM implementation and its influence on MF and LR in mass customization and batch production.

The purpose of this paper is to provide valid and reliable constructs for lean manufacturing (LM) for assessing its implementation level in order to target areas of improvement.

Based on an extensive review on LM literature and content validity assessment from practitioners and academicians, nine LM constructs were identified. Measurement items for each construct were developed to become a complete questionnaire. The questionnaire booklets were distributed to large and discrete manufacturing companies in Indonesia. Out of 1,000 survey questionnaires sent, 236 usable responses were returned giving response rate of 23.60 percent. Subsequently, an empirical assessment on the constructs was done by using structural equation modeling approach.

The study identified the valid and reliable LM constructs, consisting of nine LM constructs and 64 measurement items. The study found that all the constructs are complementary and mutually supportive with each other. Indeed, it suggests the holistic implementation of all the LM practices.

Owing the time and resource constraint, this study only involved large and discrete process manufacturing industries in Indonesia. Hence, the generalization of the result is slightly limited. More studies in several different contexts are required.

This study provided a valuable tool for researchers for gaining deeper understanding regarding the LM and its implementation. For practitioners, it is useful to evaluate the degree of LM employment in their companies, to target area of improvement, as well as to take possible actions in attempting to enhance the organizational performance. More importantly, practitioners should adopt all the LM practices in a holistic manner.

This study is the first attempt to develop LM constructs for evaluating the LM implementation in Indonesia.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between lean practices, operations performance (OP), and business performance (BP).

This survey-based study was a cross-sectional study. The samples were drawn by using stratified random sampling procedure from large Indonesian manufacturing companies based on the directory provided by the Data and Information Center of Indonesian Ministry of Industry with the final number of respondents of 139. Four main hypotheses were developed and tested statistically by applying multivariate data analyses.

The results provided evidence that lean practices should be implemented holistically. Lean practices have a positive and significant impact on both OP and BP. Moreover, OP partially mediates the relationship between lean practices and BP.

The data used in this survey represent self-reporting by mainly the middle or top management in production.

This study contributes to the lean manufacturing (LM) body of knowledge by identifying the relationships between the LM practices, OP, and BP. Understanding these relationships will help practitioners in making better decisions in manufacturing organizations as well as enable application of the concepts in this study to other contexts such as service organizations.

Although there are a growing number of anecdotal and empirical evidences in favor of LM in manufacturing environment, there has been almost no theory-building and methodologically rigorous research examining the link between LM, OP, and BP. This study is addressed to fill this gap.

Many firms have adopted different methodologies such as lean management to increase customer satisfaction. This is because they need to respond to customer demands for improved products and responsive service. This study aims to evaluate the influence of soft lean practices (SLP) on business performance in the service sector.

Out of 702 questionnaires distributed to various service companies in Zimbabwe, 260 valid responses were received. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the relationship among the factors of the proposed model.

The implementation of SLP leads to improvement in the business performance of the service companies. However, the impact of SLP on business performance is mainly indirect, mediated by customer satisfaction.

The research focused on the implementation of SLP in the service industry of a developing country; hence, the results obtained may require further investigations before generalization to other countries with different sociocultural contexts is made.

Most previous studies focused mainly on the implementation of the technical lean practices in the manufacturing industry without properly acknowledging the importance of SLP. This research investigates the importance of SLP in the service sector and further explores the mediatory role of customer satisfaction on business performance. The findings also validate the service-profit-chain theory.

The purpose of this paper is to add to the quality management body of knowledge by solidifying the connection between operational and strategic aspects of lean transformation. Previous research has examined these issues in isolation, demonstrating mixed results in financial and operational efficiencies. The authors show that when operational and strategic changes are jointly considered the likelihood of success for lean transformation increases.

The authors provide a literature review of 109 peer-reviewed papers on lean manufacturing and qualitative analysis of 23 Baldrige award winners (2000-2014) that implemented lean to assess the importance of strategic actions in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage through lean transformation.

The authors find that lean transformation yields mixed results unless strategic actions are taken by senior management. These strategic actions include but are not limited to knowledge management, human resources, and business growth and can result in performance heterogeneity by improving the output/input ratio of the firm. This performance can then manifest as either doing the same level of business with fewer resources (a profit play) or doing more business with the same resources (a growth play). As specific examples, the authors analyzed Baldrige award winners for evidence of lean strategic action to drive performance gains. The authors suggest further model validation through directed interview and/or survey research.

This paper clarifies the need for jointly implementing lean tools with strategic actions. The findings provide more deliberate strategic actions for organizations wishing to increase the likelihood of success of lean transformation and ultimately improve quality.

Many research findings demonstrate the benefits of lean manufacturing implementation. However, the impact of lean manufacturing on organizational performance in developing countries like Bangladesh remains unexplored. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of lean manufacturing system (LMS) on the organizational performance of the apparel industry in Bangladesh.

Empirical data were collected from 227 apparel manufacturing firms using a close-ended structured questionnaire. The causal relationships between the independent and dependent variables are examined by structural equation modeling using AMOS 20.0 software.

The results reveal significant evidence that the implementation of LMS has a direct impact on organizational performance in terms of operational and business performance.

The findings of this study will create a substantial interest among the practitioners of the apparel industry to implement LMS. This study will also explore the opportunities to develop lean implementation framework and identify the benefits that will enhance the competitive advantages.

This paper explores the causal relationships and argues based on the empirical data in the context of the apparel industry in Bangladesh.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediation effect of Blue Ocean Leadership (BOL) activities between lean manufacturing (LM) practices and firm performance.

This study applied sequential mixed method with expert opinion in the first stage and cross-sectional survey from automotive vendor companies in the second stage. The samples were drawn using random sampling procedure from automotive vendor companies in Malaysia with the final number of respondents of 64. Four main hypotheses were developed and tested statistically by applying multivariate data analysis using SmartPLS3.0 SEM software.

The results provide evidence that LM practices have positive and significant impact on firm performance. Moreover, activities of Genba-Kaizen significantly improve the firm performance by an amazing 30 per cent.

The data used in the survey represent self-reporting by mainly the top management in operations or production. It is recommended for future study to include middle and lower management level to understand the difference of their activities. Besides, it is proposed to extent the population beyond automotive industry.

This study contributes to the LM body of knowledge by identifying the relationships between the LM practices, firm performance and BOL activities. Understanding these will help lean practitioners especially the leaders in making better decision in both manufacturing and service organizations. Thus, increasing the staff motivation and engagement eventually contributes to the firm performance.

Although there are growing numbers of anecdotal and empirical evidences in favour of LM in manufacturing environment, there has been almost no theory-building and methodologically rigorous research examining the link between the leaders’ activities with LM practices and firm performance. This study is addressing such gaps.