The moderation effect of the cultural dimension "individualism/collectivism" on Toyota Way deployment — A global study on Toyota facilities

Abstract

Organizations all over the word attempt to emulate the Toyota Way (TW) — the heart of Toyota's lean management system — to improve their operational performance. There is a tacit assumption made that the system will produce effective results regardless of the prevailing national culture. However, very little is actually known about how the TW fits within diverse cultures. This paper empirically examines how the national cultural dimension individualism/collectivism moderates two constructs of the TW — People Development and Process Improvement — to achieve Toyota's outcomes (TW deployment). The findings, which are based on data collected from a large sample (n = 2138) of Toyota's logistics, sales and marketing employees across 20 countries, supported the hypothesis that individualistic cultures are more results-oriented in process improvements than collectivistic cultures. However, both individualistic and collectivist cultures were found to deploy the TW equally effectively — a finding that has practical and academic implications (i.e. further research).