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This article aims to explain how a transnational “retirement industry” in Southeast Asia has emerged recently as a result of interplays between various national and transnational forces, particularly in the domain of elderly care. “Retirement industry” refers to business operations related to the relocation of foreign retirees, primarily Japanese pensioners, who seek affordable social care and alternative retirement life.

This paper is based on extensive documentary studies and multi‐sited ethnographic research from 2004 to date. In‐depth interviews with retirees and relevant agencies were carried out in Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

This article delineates how demographic and economic changes in Japan create demand for the transnational retirement industry, and how Southeast Asian countries actively promote the industry as a national development strategy. As such the boundaries between nation‐state and between the market and the state are simultaneously crossed. The industry opens new transnational routes and spaces and thus further complicates the transnationalization of elderly care in Asia.

Current research on social welfare remains dominated by methodological nationalism, and this article calls attention to the transnational dimension in understanding recent changes in social care. By engaging the predominant paradigm of “care diamond”, the article shows that how boundaries shift between various care providers within nation states is inextricably related to how borders are crossed between nation states.

Although research has been undertaken on the implementation of lean within various industries, the many tools and techniques that form the “tool box”, and its integration with Six Sigma (mainly through case studies and action research), there has been little written on the journey towards the integration of the two approaches. This paper aims to examine the integration of lean principles with Six Sigma methodology as a coherent approach to continuous improvement, and provides a conceptual model for their successful integration.

Desk research and a literature review of each separate approach is provided, followed by a view of the literature of the integrated approach.

No standard framework for lean Six Sigma or its implementation exists. A systematic approach needs to be adopted, which optimises systems as a whole, focusing the right strategies in the correct places.

This paper contributes to knowledge by providing an insight into the evolution of the lean Six Sigma paradigm. It is suggested that a clear integration of the two approaches must be achieved, with sufficient scientific underpinning.

This works provides a thorough understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with Additive Manufacturing (AM) adoption in the medical sector. Through this analysis, we aim to better understand when to adopt AM, how to do so, and how such adoption might change in the future.

This research first conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) to identify AM challenges and opportunities in the medical sector, which were then validated through a Delphi study. The 18 Delphi study participants were also asked to suggest countermeasures for the challenges and help identify future AM adoption scenarios. Finally, these findings were analyzed according to the ecosystem pie model to design an ecosystem model for AM in the medical sector.

Among the 13 challenges and 13 opportunities identified, the lack of a skilled workforce and the responsiveness achievable via AM were by far the most relevant challenge and opportunity. Moreover, the participants identified countermeasures for 10 challenges, as well as three future AM adoption scenarios. Finally, leveraging these findings, an ecosystem model was developed.

This work contributes to the limited understanding of the AM challenges and opportunities in the medical sector. It helps medical practitioners to better understand the challenges and opportunities associated with AM and AM manufacturers to better identify where to focus their R&D efforts and how this would impact future AM adoption levels. Furthermore, this work extends current theory supporting the design of an ecosystem model for AM in the medical sector following the ecosystem pie model.

The purpose of this paper is to define a guideline for integrating ISO 9001 and lean thinking. It seeks to cross‐reference the guideline presented with ISO 9001 requirements and to integrate parts of the standard text with lean principles and tools.

Over the past nine years, a group of consultants has been collecting data and information from 107 manufacturing companies around Europe. The companies have been chosen from different European countries and they are of different sizes. All the companies are ISO 9001 certified and at a “mature” stage of lean implementation.

It is found that in general, lean thinking implementation affects documentation such as quality manual, procedures and work instructions. Furthermore, tools and principles such as value stream mapping, lean metrics, 5S and takt time are the most used inside the 107 companies. Jidoka and total productive maintenance are those that have been more formalised into ISO 9001 documents.

Practitioners and consultants could use the guideline for future lean thinking application within a quality management system, especially analysing the impact on documentation (e.g. quality manual, procedures and work instructions). Furthermore, practitioners and academics could use parts of the presented guideline in order to discuss and propose new ways for integrating lean thinking and ISO 9001.

This is one of the first attempts to understand the impacts of lean thinking on ISO 9001 and propose a guideline for their integration. The results of the paper propose many aspects to investigate.

Buyer–supplier relationships in public procurement have garnered increasing attention in research, yet studies on the perspective of suppliers on public procurement have remained limited. This research takes the perspective of suppliers and aims to investigate the innovativeness of suppliers and the impact of supply chain ambidexterity strategies on their perceptions about public procurement in terms of innovation enablers and customer attractiveness.

This research draws from a survey of 137 suppliers to the public sector in Finland and applies PLS-path modeling to test its hypotheses.

The findings reveal that the ambidexterity strategy of suppliers in the supply chain influences how they perceive the innovation enablers and customer attractiveness of public organizations since processes of public procurement do not support these strategies fully. Supplier innovativeness has an influence on the perceived innovation enablers of public procurement, which, in turn, influences customer attractiveness.

The innovativeness and strategies of suppliers for the supply chain have an impact on how attractive they perceive public procurement. The findings of this research provide insights on why the customer attractiveness of public procurement may not be high enough to secure the competition in their bidding processes.

The study’s contribution adds to the field of buyer–supplier relationships and customer attractiveness in public procurement by showing the importance of innovation enablers and highlighting the impact of supplier's ambidexterity in the supply chain on their perceptions about public procurement.

This paper aims to presents a conceptual comparative analysis of Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma, highlighting 18 critical aspects between such approaches and their respective implications for management decision-making.

Qualitative approach based on the results obtained from literature review about Lean and Six Sigma.

The main points of divergence between Lean and Six Sigma have been highlighted based on 18 criteria. Seventeen criteria are proposed as a result of a review of the literature and one criterion, and “quality control”, is suggested by the authors.

This article mitigates the literature gap regarding whether and how Lean and Six Sigma are synergistic approaches.

This study enables decision-makers to evaluate the Lean and Six Sigma practices. The results of the analysis performed originated three observations: first, both approaches are predominantly complementary; second, it is possible to create a single model integrating both approaches studied in this research; and third, when Lean is implemented as stand-alone approach, it falls short of specific tools to leverage its full potential according to the complexity of the problem under consideration.

This paper analyzes which aspects from Lean and Six Sigma can be learnt from organizational change and productivity improvement efforts. The analysis includes a comparison of 18 critical aspects for practical use of Lean and Six Sigma.

Purchasing has emerged as a key source of competitive advantage. This paper aims to explore how different purchasing strategies are connected to complex supply relationships and to the goal of purchasing.

The study draws on the literature on industrial network theory and industrial buying behaviour.

The contribution describes six types of purchasing strategies that firms exert. These strategies depend on the complexity of supply relationships and the buyer's purchasing goal. Conventional products and services are bought through transactional exchange relationships, whereas strategically important items are purchased through intentional supply networks.

Purchasing strategies of a firm emphasise either efficiency or effectiveness of operation. The type of exchange varies according to the nature of supply relationships: it is either transactional or relational. A key implication for managers is that they should recognise the goal of buying, the strategic importance of the object of purchasing, and choose accordingly between the different types of supplier structures.

The paper shows that firms' purchasing strategies depend on the nature of their supply relationships and the motive for purchasing. Different strategies emphasise different aspects and events that ultimately manifest themselves in the firms' business models.

Quality Circles and Kaizen Events have resulted in productivity and quality improvements for organizations. There is limited empirical research comparing these two approaches. This research study was designed to understand the similarities and differences in the structure and outcomes of these two popular continuous improvement approaches in Korea and the USA. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A logic model was used to structure a comparative analysis of Quality Circles and Kaizen Events undertaken in six different organizations in Korea and the USA. A logic model framework consisting of four areas (resources, activities, outputs and outcomes) was used to assess the key components of these six improvement projects. Data for three different comparative case study project pairs were collected. Projects were matched on both manufacturer-level and project-level characteristics. Matched projects were similar in size and type of product produced.

Similarities between Quality Circles and Kaizen Events were identified in every component of the logic model. Both mechanisms were effective in driving improvements in performance and in motivating employees, even though significant differences in the project size, type, and industrial sector existed across the six different projects.

There was no evidence to support the conclusion that one continuous improvement approach is more or less effective than the other. Both approaches produced improvements in both technical and social system outcomes. Overall, it appears based on this study, that both Quality Circles and Kaizen Events can be successfully deployed in an organization's continuous improvement journey.

The purpose of this paper is to review the historical development of Lean Six Sigma and to identify the relevant opportunities for the application of Lean Six Sigma within the university setting. The paper also discusses the challenges of Lean Six Sigma implementation in higher education, as well as the cultural changes necessary to provide an appropriate climate for its long-term success.

The paper contains a comprehensive discussion of the development of Lean Six Sigma over the past three decades. Additionally, the paper describes how Lean Six Sigma may be applied in the university setting to improve processes in curriculum delivery; business and auxiliary services; admissions and enrollment management; and research.

Lean Six Sigma can be applied to facilitate process improvements in curriculum delivery; business and auxiliary services; admissions and enrollment management; and research. While obstacles to Lean Six Sigma implementation exist, the process improvements and resulting cultural changes are worthwhile and noteworthy.

The paper serves as a guide for how Lean Six Sigma processes can be utilized in the higher education setting. Other researchers and practitioners may use the paper as a practical orientation to Lean Six Sigma in the university setting.

Due to the unique culture of higher education, the application of Lean Six Sigma to university processes has been sparse. The paper provides a needed orientation as to how Lean Six Sigma may be applied to improve some of the more important functional aspects of the university.