The Influence of Continuous Improvement Practices on Learning: An Empirical Study

Abstract

Note: Review of this paper was conducted by Dr. James R. Evans, editor emeritus of the Quality Management Journal.This paper examines whether continuous improvement practices (CIPs) directly affect organizational improvement, or whether their impact on improvement is mediated by learning, which then leads to improved performance. A survey instrument was developed using both prior scales and new items. The collected responses were then analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques, which suggested that the maturity of a firm's use of CIPs fully mediated the effects of CIPs and learning on organizational improvement. These findings provide evidence that it is essential for a firm to create an organizational structure to support continuous improvement and to help make continuous improvement the way the firm does its work.