Assessing the “Systemic Barriers” Affecting Lean Implementation: A Comparison Between Manufacturing and Lean Software Development Contexts

Abstract

This study attempts to understand the systemic nature of barriers affecting lean implementation in two highly contrasting contexts, i.e., manufacturing and software development. The impact of barriers and their interrelationships is explained using the theoretical lens of organizational change, including dynamics of motivational contagion, resistance, and readiness to change. Furthermore, the varying impact of barriers in manufacturing and service contexts is posited using the service-dominant logic, which is subsequently examined by analyzing barrier impacts in a manufacturing firm and a software development firm in India. Lean implementation barriers common to multiple industry sectors were identified from extant literature and then subjected to graph theory (GT) methodology to quantify the causal interactions among these common barriers. Relevant data were collected from team leaders in Indian manufacturing and software development firms tasked with lean implementation in their organizations. A network of relationships was obtained using the GT approach for major barrier groups and associated subbarriers. The findings highlighted the varying effect of these barriers in the two highly contrasting contexts. This study extends the understanding of the systemic effect of lean implementation barriers, which is a relatively novel perspective.