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The first goal of this research is to analyse the effects of lean production (LP) on the policy of human resource management (HRM). The second is to determine whether or not implementation of HRM practices associated with LP explains the differences in organizational performance between manufacturing plants.

The paper developed a questionnaire for data collection. Findings are presented from 76 establishments (79.17 per cent of the total sample) that specialise in single‐firing ceramic tiles in Spain.

Companies that make the most of LP practices are also those that take care to train workers in using these practices as well as improving their employment security. However, the same is not true for the pay for performance system. The combination of LP with HRM practices reduces inventory and boosts productivity but does not appear to affect the other performance variables analysed.

For certain variables very little variation was found between the plants in the samples. The data are cross‐sectional, so causality cannot be definitively determined.

This paper indicates the HRM practices associated with the LP and the results obtained. It can thus be used to help human resource and production departments in improving organizational performance.

The paper extends the work of other researchers by focusing on a sector and a country that have been very little studied to date. The sample consists of a set of plants that are fairly homogeneous, which facilitates the analysis of the relationships between the selected variables, while keeping other variables controlled.

The purpose of this paper is to show a real experience of how a scheme of continuous improvement has been gradually transformed, from a very unsuccessful start, passing through different phases and finally delivering results for the firm.

The authors analyse the evolution of the formal programs of continuous improvement of a firm in a traditional sector (food). The data for the research were gathered by means of participatory observation over the course of 18 months spent in the firm attending the meetings of the improvement teams.

Both programs (individual and group) have proved to be very profitable for the company. However, there is no magic formula for the correct operation of the system of continuous improvement. The existing system has to be continually improved, correcting faults and trying always to contribute something new to re‐launch the system regularly.

This study has also permitted the authors to highlight the importance of continuous improvement in the firm from both the economic point of view and that of worker development.

The investigation aims to help to cover the lack of longitudinal case studies of continuous improvement.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of training on ad hoc teams in an industrial setting.

In this paper, data were collected from 11 Spanish automobile manufacturer suppliers and included the assessment of the current situation, the creation and holding of different workshops followed by the collection of the results.

The paper finds that ad hoc teams are really effective especially in lean companies.

This paper breaks new ground in analysing the effect of training ad hoc teams in an industrial setting.

To determine the degree of use of some of the most representative lean production (LP) practices in the Spanish ceramic tile industry, their relationship with plant size and their effect on the operational performance of the companies in the sector.

A questionnaire was developed for data collection. Findings are presented from 76 companies (79.17 per cent of the total sample) that specialise in single firing ceramics.

In the sector under study, there is one set of practices that have as yet scarcely been implemented (group technology, kanban, reduction of set‐up time, development of multi‐function employees and visual factory) and another set whose use is fairly widespread (standardisation of operations, total productive maintenance and quality controls). The degree of their respective use depends on a firm's size. Very few correlations appear between the degree of use of any specific LP practice in isolation and the operational indicators.

For certain variables we found very little variation between the firms in our sample. Moreover, many firms did not have available the data needed for calculating capacity utilisation, and hence we have not been able to check its effects in our analysis.

The paper presents data for reflecting on the application of different LP practices in isolation and on the impediments limiting the use of some of them in the sector.

The paper extends the work of other researchers by focusing on a sector and a country that have been very little studied until now. The sample consists of a set of firms that are fairly homogeneous; this facilitates analysing the relationships between the selected variables while keeping other variables controlled.

This research aimed to conceptualize organizations as open and purposeful systems to study how organizational culture (OC) influences firms' Innovative Performance (IP). The authors proposed goal setting and internal integration/external adaptation paradox as central to explaining OC's mediating and suppressing effects on IP.

The authors collected data from 372 Costa Rican organizations and analyzed them with structural equations. This research used the Denison Model instead of the usual typology-based approaches.

The mission had a direct and high impact on IP. The mediated effect via adaptability was also elevated, as well as the suppressor effect through consistency. There was no effect on IP of involvement. According to these results, the Open and Rational Systems Framework emerge as the main theoretical explanatory concepts.

Disaggregating the OC through a performance-oriented dimensional model makes it possible to study the dynamics between the elements that compound it and facilitate integrating these findings with other research streams.

This chapter deals with the development of banking in the Crown of Aragon from the end of the thirteenth century through the establishment of money changers, which followed similar patterns as in other Western European territories. It starts with a review of existing literature and follows with an explanation on the different banking services provided by money changers and the specific legal framework that supported such activities. It then examines the geographical distribution of private banks in cities and towns within the domains of the kings of Aragon, as well as their evolution throughout the fourteenth century. After that, it offers an analysis of the most common professional profiles among these bankers and financers. Finally, drawing on a heterogeneous pool of unpublished data, it seeks to shed light on the diversity of investors and clients of these establishments, a crucial proof of their role in integrated financial markets.