Structural model of lean and cleaner production on manufacturing sustainability performance: Malaysian manufacturers' perspectives

Abstract

In terms of practices, the implementation of Lean and Cleaner Production shared a common focus, aiming to enhance the degree of management efficiency, while reducing the barriers in continuous improvement activities. This positively produced an enormous impact on the performance in economic, environmental, and social competency, while improving the level of sustainable manufacturing performance. Using survey data from 107 respondents consists of Malaysian manufacturers, this study empirically focuses to explore and examine the relationships between Lean and Cleaner Production with manufacturing sustainability performance via the Structural Equation Modelling-Partial Least Square technique. The results have shown that the implementation of Lean and Cleaner Production produced a significant positive effect on economic and competency sustainability performance. Although the relationship between Lean and Cleaner Production with environmental sustainability performance is not significant, thru well-intentioned impulses, manufacturing firms could grasp the opportunities in improving the performance of economic, enhancing the social competency, and grasp better environmentally friendly practices.