The Impact of Lean Management on Operational Performance in Algeria’s Agroalimentary Sector

Evidence exists for the application of lean management practices in the design process. However, there is no systematic review of this type of practice that links the design management practices to the lean construction principles. There is no tool to assess the level of use of lean design management practices in construction projects either. Therefore, this paper aims to assess the lean management practices that are performed at the design phase of construction projects. The research was divided into a literature review of design management practices; a validation of lean design management practices with a practice–principle relationship, based on an expert survey; the devolvement of a tool (questionnaire) to evaluate the lean design management practices; and an assessment in 64 construction projects (coherence, reliability, correlation, and descriptive analysis). It is concluded that evidence exists for the implementation of 19 lean design management practices. These practices are grouped into three categories: stakeholder management, planning and control, and problem solving and decision making. Additionally, in the assessment of the 64 projects, it can be observed that the lean design management practices are at initial levels of implementations, so there is a significant development gap. This research proposes a tool to assess management practices in the design phase of construction projects; then, the study identifies implementations gaps, it provides benchmarks with other projects, and it improves the design process through a taxonomy of lean design management practices.

Aims: This study aims to examine the impact of lean management practices on organizational competitiveness, with operational performance positioned as a mediating mechanism. Specifically, the study seeks to analyse how lean management practices influence operational performance and how these operational improvements subsequently contribute to enhancing the competitive position of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Study Design: This study employs a quantitative explanatory research design using a cross-sectional survey approach. The relationships among lean management practices, operational performance, and organizational competitiveness are examined through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted among small and medium-sized enterprises located in the Greater Bandung area, Indonesia. Data collection took place between 15 November to 5 December 2025. Methodology: Data were collected from 186 SME owner–managers in Bandung, Indonesia, and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The measurement items were adapted from established literature on lean management, operational performance, and competitiveness. The data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to assess the reliability and validity of the measurement model and to test the proposed structural relationships, including the mediating role of operational performance. Results: The results indicate that lean management practices have a significant positive effect on operational performance. Operational performance, in turn, significantly enhances organizational competitiveness. In addition, lean management practices also exert a direct positive effect on organizational competitiveness. Mediation analysis reveals that operational performance partially mediates the relationship between lean management practices and organizational competitiveness, indicating that the competitive benefits of lean management are achieved primarily through improvements in operational performance. Conclusion: The study concludes that lean management serves as an effective strategic approach for enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs when it is implemented in a manner that strengthens operational performance. The findings underscore the importance of focusing on operational improvements as a key mechanism through which lean management translates into sustainable competitive advantages.

Amaç: Bu çalışmada, yalın yönetim uygulamaları kullanan işletmelerde yalın yönetimin insan kaynakları yönetimi uygulamaları üzerindeki etkisinin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yöntem: Araştırma kapsamında bir anket formu oluşturulmuş ve 253 çalışan ile anket gerçekleştirilmiştir. Yalın yönetim uygulamalarına yönelik tutum için Derin (2008) tarafından geliştirilen, 24 maddelik Yalın Yönetim Ölçeği; insan kaynakları yönetimi uygulamalarına yönelik tutum için Akın ve Erdost-Çolak (2012) tarafından geliştirilen, 33 maddelik İnsan Kaynakları Yönetimi Uygulamaları Ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Bulgular: Yalın Yönetim Ölçeği’ne yapılan faktör analizi sonucunda Faydalar ve Olanaklar ile İnisiyatif ve Katılımcılık isimli iki faktör; İnsan Kaynakları Yönetimi Uygulamaları Ölçeği’ne yapılan faktör analizi sonucunda Performans Sistemi, İşe Alma ve Kararlara Katılım isimli üç faktör tespit edilmiştir. Yapılan hipotez testleri sonucunda; sadece Faydalar ve Olanaklar faktörünün Performans Sistemi ile İşe Alma üzerinde pozitif ve anlamlı etkisi bulunduğu, Faydalar ve Olanaklar faktörü ile İnisiyatif ve Katılımcılık faktörünün Kararlara Katılım faktörü üzerinde pozitif ve anlamlı etkisi olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Özgünlük: Araştırma neticesinde, yalın yönetim uygulamalarının insan kaynakları yönetimi uygulamaları üzerinde pozitif ve anlamlı etkiye sahip olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Elde edilen bulgular, yalın yönetim ile ilgili literatüre katkı sağlamakta ve yalınlaşmayı arzulayan işletmelere yol göstermektedir.

Research at the nexus of maritime management and operational performance suggests that lean management may benefit from sociotechnical systems theory (STS) in terms of long-term business performance. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which lean management practices can improve operational performance. This study aims to assess the relationships between lean policy, lean practices, operational performance, and business performance in the context of container shipping. The examined data are acquired from 212 respondents in Taiwan, and a structural equation model is employed to evaluate the hypotheses. The results show that lean policy and practice positively impact both lean social practices and lean technical practices. Lean social practices and lean technical practices are positively related to operational performance. Operational performance is associated with business performance. In particular, lean policy has a direct relationship with operational performance. Based on lean policy is easily able to directly improve its lean social practices and lean technical practices, proving lean policy can strongly push organizations towards further enhanced performance. Although it will be ups and downs along the way in terms of business performance, improving long-term business value and cost advantage is very importance. Thus, this article contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the effect of lean practices and discusses practical implications for container shipping companies.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and explore lean management implementation practices for operational performance in the pharmaceutical industry in Sri Lanka. The study investigates the impact of lean management implementation practices with the lean bundle on the operational performance of each business unit of the pharmaceutical industry. The methodology study has been conducted with 412 business unit managers of the pharmaceutical industry. SPSS has been used for descriptive statistics. The AMOS version has been used for structural equation modelling. SEM technique has been used to develop the measurement model. This study has investigated how lean management practices have an impact to gain operational performance in the pharmaceutical industry in Sri Lanka. Lean management practices have implemented the lean bundle TQM, HRM, JIT, and TPM to succuss the operational performance. This study has been limited only to the pharmaceutical industry in Sri Lanka and measured lean management with the lean bundle. Also, operational performance has been measured with seven dimensions. The findings of this study have given a high value to implementing lean management using the lean bundle. This lean bundle can be used to gain high operational performance in any industry.

Sustainability has become a global imperative, positioning Lean management as a critical approach to achieving this goal, with employee performance efficiency playing a vital role in industrial manufacturing. Therefore, this study investigates how Lean waste management practices, supported by employee engagement, enhance sustainable performance in the steel industry, aligning with ESG indicators and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The model is empirically validated using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) based on 385 responses from executives of steel manufacturing plants in the Eastern Region of Thailand. The findings reveal that lean management practices have a significant positive impact on sustainability, contributing to improved environmental, governance, and social outcomes. Employee performance also directly influences sustainability and has a strong positive effect on waste management, emphasizing its critical role in enhancing operational efficiency and sustainable practices. Interestingly, the study finds that employee performance significantly and negatively moderates the relationship between lean management and sustainability. This indicates that while high-performing employees enhance sustainability through their direct contributions, their overall effectiveness in operational areas may reduce the specific measurable impact of lean practices on sustainability outcomes. The results highlight the importance of integrating employee engagement and lean management strategies to optimize sustainability in the steel industry. Organizations are encouraged to foster a culture of continuous improvement and align operational strategies with human resource capabilities to achieve long-term sustainable success.

In the last three decades, lean and quality management practices have been employed by the manufacturing organizations but limited studies have analyzed impact of lean and quality practices on green supply chain performance. This study aims to understand the impact of lean and quality management practices on green supply chain (GSC) performance through an empirical investigation. The study also benchmarks the adoption of lean and quality practices and GSC performance for ceramic enterprises. The study adopts multivariate data analysis methods. Four hypotheses have been developed based on the critical analysis of literature. Data was collected from 233 ceramic enterprises, and hypotheses are tested through structural equation modeling and cluster analysis. The results indicate a higher level of implementation of quality practices than lean practices in ceramic enterprises. The statistical results show that the adoption of lean and quality management practices led to the enhancement in operational and environmental performances but a decrease in economic performance. Results also show that the adoption level of these practices is high in large size enterprises, and the GSC performance level is highest for large enterprises, medium for medium enterprises, and lowest for small enterprises. The sector and region-specific focus of the study limits its results from generalization.

PurposeThe current research aims to map and investigate how human resource management and lean practices can be integrated. This investigation will help identify the HRM aspects critical in the success of lean initiatives while exploring the research gaps in the existing literature. The review also aims to delineate the benefits and challenges of integrating lean with HRM systems to discuss further research and practice areas.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilizes a systematic literature review method to identify and synthesize the existing literature. As part of the process, a protocol that provided a plan for the review was followed, including the research questions and the data to be extracted.FindingsThe study results indicate that aspects of HRM practice and policies such as training and development, teamwork, motivation, communication, leadership, are key enablers of lean initiative deployment and success. The benefits of the integration of human resources with lean can help in lean training and development, communication of lean initiatives and successes, allocating and hiring continuous improvement personnel, and supporting leadership in lean deployment. Challenges to integrating lean and HRM practices included lack of integration and collaboration between disciplines. Further exploration areas in successful lean deployment would be practical longitudinal case studies on lean deployments with human resource (HR) partnerships and involvement.Practical implicationsThis review paper has crucial implications for practice relating to, integration of lean with HRM structures and tailoring HRM initiatives to ensure the success of lean deployment and reduce risks of failure.Originality/valueThe systematic literature review study conducted in this paper is the first of its kind to integrate and map the HRM concepts that can be integrated with Lean to deploy the initiative successfully. This mapping is critical for ensuring the success of lean methodologies within an organization and paves the way for future research. In addition, managers and organizations can find support and guidance from this study to focus on vital areas of partnership between their lean and HR programs.

The Construction Industry (CI) faces vulnerabilities like pandemics and crises, necessitating robust crisis and lean management to enhance resilience and sustainability. The research examines crisis management challenges faced by the CI during the pandemic and explores lean and waste management practices to enhance productivity and reduce costs. A literature review was conducted to identify crisis management challenges and lean waste management practices, involving expert input from professionals working in building companies, infrastructure projects in Mumbai and Chennai. The reliability, sample size sufficiency, and accuracy of the collected data and findings were verified using Cronbach’s alpha test, factor analysis, KMO test, and Bartlett test. The study reveals that lean management and practices can significantly reduce CO2 emissions by up to 30% in crisis management. The research explores crisis management in the CI sector, highlights areas for further investigation, and examines the long-term impacts of lean methodology on CI sustainability. The study highlights the importance of lean practices in identifying wasteful activities, enhancing productivity and cost reduction, and suggests seven crisis management methods to mitigate issues during catastrophic events. However, the limitation of the study is the sample size of an expert team and the biases associated with an expert team.

PurposeFirms are adopting strategies to advance product quality and environmental sustainability to achieve improved profitability and shareholders’ wealth. The study investigates strategies that create a superior quality performance to competitors and improve both environmental and business performances. This paper explores the direct and indirect influence of lean management and environmental practices on relative competitive quality advantage, environmental performance and business performance.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a quantitative method where data is gathered from 259 manufacturing firms in Ghana. The data is gathered through customized questionnaires. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (SmartPLS 3.2.8) is used to analyze the data. Firm size, industry type and importance of environmental issues are used as control variables in this study.FindingsThe findings of the study indicate that both lean management and environmental practices create relative competitive quality advantage and improve environmental performance and business performance. Environmental performance and relative competitive quality advantage mediate the influence of lean management and environmental practices on business performance. The results further indicate that lean management creates a higher relative competitive quality advantage than environmental practices, while environmental practices have more potency to enhance environmental performance than lean management.Originality/valueThe study develops and proposes a comprehensive theoretical framework that examines the potency of environmental practices and lean management in creating a relative competitive quality advantage and improving environmental performance and business performance from a Ghanaian perspective, which is an emerging economy in Africa. Lean management and environmental practices may jointly help firms create relative competitive advantage and improve environmental performance to enhance business performance.

The mediating influence of organisational cultural practices in successful lean management implementation.

This study investigates the correlation between lean management practices and operational performance in Sri Lanka's apparel industry, focusing on the significance of continuous improvement, waste elimination, leadership support, and supplier involvement in fostering operational efficiency. Motivated by the severe impacts of an economic downturn on the garment industry, this research underscores the urgent need for effective management strategies to sustain competitiveness. The study adopts a quantitative approach, collecting data through structured questionnaires from a sample of 275 managerial-level employees across 10 major apparel manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka. The sample was selected using purposive sampling, ensuring that participants have direct involvement with lean management practices. The analysis reveals that continuous improvement, leadership support, and supplier involvement significantly enhance operational performance, while waste elimination shows no significant impact in this context. These findings suggest that achieving the ambitious export targets set by Sri Lanka's apparel industry requires a strategic shift towards operational efficiency and quality enhancement. The study highlights the effectiveness of lean practices in improving operational outcomes, while also indicating that traditional strategies such as waste elimination may need re-evaluation. The implications of this research are critical for industry leaders aiming to navigate the challenges of global competition and economic pressures, as it suggests a strategic focus on continuous improvement, robust leadership, and integrated supplier involvement to drive efficiency and growth. These results not only contribute to the academic understanding of lean management but also offer practical insights for enhancing operational performance in a key sector of Sri Lanka's economy.

Increasing market rivalry and an expected decrease in growth rates are putting ever greater pressure on operational performance in the pharmaceutical industry. As a consequence, lean manufacturing practices such as Total Preventive Maintenance (TPM), Just-in-Time (JIT), Total Quality Management (TQM) and Human Resource Management (HRM) seem to be attracting an increasing level of managerial attention. To the best of our knowledge, the existing literature remains sparse on the effect of lean manufacturing practices on operational performance in the pharmaceutical industry. To close this research gap, this article explores the effects of lean practices on operational performance in the pharmaceutical industry. Our results indicate that typical contextual factors such as plant size and company type have an influence on the degree of implementation of lean practices. We also provide evidence that, even in an industry with so many regulatory requirements, lean practices positively affect operational performance. Finally, the results suggest that operational performance is positively associated with overall company performance.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which lean management practices are adopted by manufacturing organizations in Thailand and their impact on firms' operational performance.Design/methodology/approachUsing a survey questionnaire, data were collected against 13 lean practices from 187 middle and senior managers belonging to 187 Thai manufacturing firms. Using factor analysis these lean practices were then clustered into three higher level constructs namely just in time (JIT), waste minimization and flow management. The responding firms were categorized into small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises (LEs) based on size and Thai‐owned, foreign‐owned and joint venture firms based on ownership. The multiple regression models were employed to investigate the effects of three lean constructs on operational performance in different categories of firms. The operational performance is measured by four parameters such as quick delivery compared to competitors, unit cost of products relative to competitors, overall productivity and customer satisfaction.FindingsThe results indicate that all three lean constructs are significantly related to operational performance. JIT has a higher level of significance in LEs compared with SMEs, whereas for waste minimization there is a higher level of significance for SMEs compared with LEs. Flow management has a much lower level of significance for both SMEs and LEs. With respect to ownership, JIT is highly significant to operational performance for all three ownership groups (Thai, foreign and joint venture). Foreign‐owned companies show a higher level of significance on operational performance for both waste management and flow management than Thai and joint venture companies.Originality/valueThe paper provides insights into the adoption of lean practices in an Asian context and using survey data as opposed to case studies, and provides further evidence that lean practices are significant in enhancing operational performance.

ObjectivesThis study investigates how lean management (LM) practices align with and contribute to strategic objectives in healthcare using the congruence model as a conceptual framework.DesignThis study employed a qualitative research design, integrating both inductive and deductive approaches. Data were collected from multiple hospital departments using primary and secondary sources. Primary data included semi-structured interviews, guided by a standardised interview protocol. Secondary data consisted of reports on courses of action, annual reports, policy documents and findings from exploratory meetings. The analysis involved iterative cycles of open coding, axial coding and selective coding to systematically identify and refine themes, supporting thematic analysis.SettingSix departments: Kidney and vascular surgery, Care core movement, Clinical department, Systemic diseases, Oncology, Care core Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary disease (HPB), which were part of one business unit within a tertiary care institution, a University Medical Centre in the Netherlands.Participants22 respondents aged 18 years or older were purposefully selected based on their organisational roles and LM experience. Respondents had to be involved in LM practices, which meant they had to understand LM and have passed at least one LM training programme, or they should be enrolled in a training course during the research.ResultsInterviewees identified several barriers to LM implementation, including insufficient management support for a culture of continuous improvement, limited time for LM projects, inadequate recognition from management and poor communication of strategic objectives. Despite positive individual experiences with LM projects, their contribution to strategic objectives was deemed limited due to these barriers. Specific challenges included an experienced lack of leadership commitment, inadequate follow-up on projects, insufficient resource allocation, limited access to training and leaders failing to acknowledge employee value. Facilitators of success were fostering a culture of continuous improvement, committed managers and providing training.ConclusionsLM practices have the potential to contribute to strategic objectives in healthcare organisations by reducing waste, improving patient care quality and optimising processes. However, their impact is constrained by organisational barriers and misalignments. Challenges such as insufficient resources, poor project follow-up, lack of management support and the absence of a continuous improvement culture minimise LM’s effectiveness.