A Research Agenda for Six Sigma Research

Abstract

Since its inception, Six Sigma has been adopted by many organizations in a wide variety of industries, and has continued to deliver positive results after years of experience. Rich anecdotal evidence supports the effectiveness of Six Sigma in improving quality, productivity, cost, customer satisfaction, sales, and profitability. Six Sigma has also been found to be effective in translating strategic goals into actionable projects and in developing leaders.These positive reports suggest that Six Sigma deserves serious research attention. To date, however, few research articles have addressed Six Sigma. To close this research gap, the authors first conducted a nearly exhaustive search of the Six Sigma academic and practitioner literature. They then conducted numerous focus group meetings with expert practitioners, interacted with senior managers in executive seminars, and networked with leading researchers. They also gained first-hand experience through involvement in many Six Sigma programs.From the authors' critical analysis of the Six Sigma literature, they make four important observations. First, it is nearly impossible to develop a formal conceptual definition of Six Sigma. Second, they identify five views of Six Sigma and argue for the program view. Third, they identify five core elements that are a part of nearly all Six Sigma programs. Fourth, from this program view and set of core elements, the authors identify eight important program view research questions and lay the research foundation for each of these questions. Based on these observations, they challenge the academic and practitioner communities to work collaboratively to find practical research-based answers to each of their eight questions.