The Effect of Kaizen Implementation and Sustainability on Performance of the Manufacturing Sector in Ethiopia

Abstract

Today’s modern society, where business dynamism is changing fast, requires going beyond the traditional managerial approach. This research examines how and the context of Kaizen implementation affects the sustainability and Performance of manufacturing companies in Ethiopia. The study follows the framework of the Kaizen practices implemented in Ethiopia as the application of Kaizen tools, kaizen thinking, and culture. The findings indicate that there is a positive correlation between Kaizen Implementation factors (input factors) and sustainability factors in relation to the Performance of manufacturing companies in Ethiopia. The results of the study suggest that manufacturing companies in Ethiopia should emphasize working on promoting the Kaizen culture and empowerment of employees coupled with the use of the Kaizen tools effectively and adapted to the context of each company to enhance the Performance and achieve competitive advantage. Empowerment factors include all variables that measure thinking and culture. The variables are critical for sustaining Kaizen in terms of maintaining improved culture. For Kaizen to be sustainable, employees need to be empowered to learn, apply and own the changes. The results from the PLS path model analysis indicate that the dependent variable (improved culture) is found to have a strong relationship with two implementation variables (independent variables): empowerment and leadership commitment. Keywords: Culture, Empowerment, Leadership Commitment, Sustainability, Performance.