Continuous Improvement Capability Research Articles

Sustainable shipping management: Definitions, critical success factors, drivers and performance

Sustainable shipping management (SSM) is one of the greatest challenges in the 21st century which attracts much attention and interest from global regulatory bodies, industry players, and academics. The objective of this study is to review and consolidate the topic of SSM, specifically, the definitions, critical success factors (CSFs), drivers, and their effects on organizational performance. A systematic review of academic journals is conducted. The review suggests that (1) there are seven CSFs of SSM, namely, government support, organizational commitment, strategic alignment, relationship management, knowledge management, technology acceptance, and performance measurement; (2) shipping firms are motivated to adopt SSM due to institutional pressure and the desire to enhance organizational performance; (3) SSM can lead to better financial and non-financial performances but the relationships are contingent on external and internal conditions. External conditions consist of the stakeholder influence capacity and shippers' belief whereas internal conditions involve the firms’ competitive strategy, continuous improvement capability, green capability, innovation capability, pace, and consistency. This study contributes to the literature by consolidating the scattered research on SSM, providing greater theoretical insight into the CSFs of SSM, the drivers of SSM, the impact SSM has on performances and implications to academia, government and policymakers, and strategic team of shipping companies to manage sustainability in the maritime transport industry.

Leveraging capabilities for digitally supported process improvement: a framework for combining Lean and ERP

PurposeEnterprise resource planning (ERP) and Lean are both widely used approaches to business process improvement. However, research is limited on their interactions when implemented in combination, leveraging the advantages of both. The purpose of this paper is to propose a generic framework for implementing ERP and Lean in combination to develop digitally supported business process improvement capability and improved competitiveness.Design/methodology/approachPrinciples and elements for the framework were derived from the extant literature and subsequently applied as input for solution incubation using design science research (DSR) in a five-year case study. Study results and learnings enabled solution refinement and the development of a generic framework for digital supported process improvement capabilities.FindingsThe paper presents a case study narrative and proposes a framework for digitally supported business process improvement capability based on Lean and enabled digitally by ERP. The framework delivers tangible productivity and quality improvements deployed, and an increase of continuous improvement capability.Originality/valueThis paper provides a novel generic framework and a set of guidelines for implementing Lean and ERP in SMEs and/or service companies to improve their business process excellence. The paper contributes to the scientific literature by providing insights on how SMEs and service operations can integrate Lean and ERP methods, digitalize and streamline processes in the organization and build continuous improvement capabilities.

Effect of Continuous Improvement Capabilities and Manufacturing Flexibility on Customer Satisfaction Considering Manufacturing/Marketing Collaboration

불확실하고 역동적인 경영환경에서 경영조직의 지속 가능한 경영은 학계와 산업계의 주된 관심의 대상이 되고 있다. 이에 대응하기 위해 제조업체는 가치 사슬 전반에 걸쳐 유연성을 강화하기 위해 노력하고 있다. 가치 사슬 유연성의 중요한 차원인 생산유연성은 고객의 요구를 충족시키기 위해 생산 자원과 불확실성을 조정하는 조직의 능력으로 정의된다. 본 연구는 경영환경의 변화를 반영하여 기업의 경쟁우위를 설명하는 동적역량이론의 이론적 틀을 활용하여 수행되었다. 생산유연성을 이끌어 내는 선행요인으로 지속적 개선(프로세스 관리, 향상지향)을 제시하고, 고객만족과의 관계를 분석하였다. 또한 생산유연성과 고객만족과의 관계에 영향을 미치는 요소로 생산·마케팅 협력을 제시하고, 실증분석을 수행하였다. 분석을 통해 제조기업의 생산유연성은 고객만족을 높일 수 있는 주요한 요소가 되며, 지속적 개선 역량 중 프로세스 관리 역량만이 고객만족에 미치는 직접적 영향이 유의미함을 확인하였다. 매개효과 분석을 통해 향상지향 역량은 고객만족에 간접적 영향을 미친다는 결과를 도출하였다, 더불어 조절효과 분석을 통해 생산·마케팅 협력이 생산유연성과 고객만족간의 관계를 약화시키는 것을 확인하였다. 이 결과를 바탕으로 학술적·실무적 시사점을 제시하고, 연구의 한계점과 향후 연구방향을 논의하였다.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Optimization effect of ecological restoration based on high-resolution remote sensing images in the ecological construction of soil and water conservation

Affected by many degradation risks such as global climate change and human activities, ecological wetlands, alien species invasion, environmental pollution, coastal erosion, etc., through the rapid development of remote sensing technology and remote sensing data, continuous improvement capabilities can be obtained. Ecological environment analysis is a long-term process, and its quality is based on environmental influences. This article uses a long-term sequence of multi-source remote sensing data, for your own wetland products, time and space gaps, lack of consistency, accuracy is not a problem, but the evolution of a typical estuary wetland ecosystem, new methods, for long-term In the remote sensing mode, we have been performing a series of long-term wetland remote sensing mapping and detecting changes with high quality. On this basis, the long-term evolution process, characteristics and driving mechanism of the structure and function of the wetland ecosystem are further analyzed and investigated. At the same time, a series of processing such as geometric correction, frequency band selection, and research field extraction will be performed on remote sensing images, and the elements selected for monitoring natural ecological restoration will be analyzed. As the realization principle and method of each element. Use binary images to extract the elements of vegetation coverage in remote sensing images. Extract the elements of land use types from remote sensing images according to the most likelihood method. The temperature and humidity of the remote image are extracted from the heat index and humidity index.

Lean leadership: Towards continuous improvement capability in healthcare.

This research focuses on the role of leadership styles during Lean Management (LM) initiatives in healthcare environments. Specifically, this study examined the role of leadership styles in the development of Continuous Improvement (CI) capability of teams. The empirical evidence was collected by applying a multiple-case design, and consisted of interviews, observations, and documentation. These data sources were used to develop case studies, and to identify leadership behaviours supportive of LM. Through qualitative case analysis, the influence of leadership styles on CI capability was determined. The results show that a hybrid leadership style is associated with higher levels of CI capability, and that the duration of a LM program in itself does not dictate maturity. A mix of both transactional and transformational leadership styles seems a necessary condition for teams to reach higher levels of CI capability. Based on these findings, this paper provides a framework to structure thinking on LM and leadership styles, and concludes with supporting propositions. The current outcomes imply that leaders should be sensitive towards their adopted leadership style, and should adopt a leadership style that combines both transformational as well as transactional elements, when leading LM teams.This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Eco-oriented culture and financial performance: roles of innovation strategy and eco-oriented continuous improvement in manufacturing state-owned enterprises, Indonesia

This study focuses on investigating the mediating effect of innovation strategy and eco-oriented continuous improvement on the relationship between eco-oriented culture and corporate financial performance. This study provides empirical evidence to the resource-based theory stating that a corporate needs to have valuable, rare, inimmitable, and nonsubstitutable resources to remain competitive. Organization culture, innovation and continuous improvement capabilities are considered as the critical resources that must be developed by a corporate to gain competitive advantage. This study is designed as quantitative research using a variance-based or the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Study on 103 managers of the manufacturing state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Indonesia reveals that innovation strategy and eco-oriented continuous improvement partially mediate the relationship between EOC and corporate financial performance. This study contribute to provide greater understanding regarding the need to consider eco-orientation within a corporate life. It implies that for boosting the corporate financial performance, a corporate needs to adapt the eco-orientation and understand the mechanism on how eco-oriented culture affects corporate financial performance using innovation strategy and continuous improvements in eco-oriented operation management processes, customer management processes, innovation management processes, as well as regulatory and social processes. A strong eco-oriented culture will lead to beneficial innovations and eco-oriented continuous improvement; hence it has a positive association to financial performance. Many studies have been conducted on how a culture affects financial performance. However, there are still few studies describing the mechanism of how a culture can improve financial performance using innovation strategy and eco-oriented continuous improvement, especially in the context of environmental issues and in a developing country. Focusing on explaining the mediating effect, this study employs a more comprehensive structural model integrating four eco-oriented variables.

Establishment and evaluation of a multicenter collaborative prediction model construction framework supporting model generalization and continuous improvement: A pilot study

Background and ObjectiveIn recent years, an increasing number of clinical prediction models have been developed to serve clinical care. Establishing a data-driven prediction model based on large-scale electronic health record (EHR) data can provide a more empirical basis for clinical decision making. However, research on model generalization and continuous improvement is insufficiently focused, which also hinders the application and evaluation of prediction models in real clinical environments. Therefore, this study proposes a multicenter collaborative prediction model construction framework to build a prediction model with greater generalizability and continuous improvement capabilities while preserving patient data security and privacy. Materials and MethodsBased on a multicenter collaborative research network, such as the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI), a multicenter collaborative prediction model construction framework is proposed. Based on the idea of multi-source transfer learning, in each source hospital, a base classifier was trained according to the model research setting. Then, in the target hospital with missing calibration data, a prediction model was established through weighted integration of base classifiers from source hospitals based on the smoothness assumption. Moreover, a passive-aggressive online learning algorithm was used for continuous improvement of the prediction model, which can help to maintain a high predictive performance to provide reliable clinical decision-making abilities. To evaluate the proposed prediction model construction framework, a prototype system for colorectal cancer prognosis prediction was developed. To evaluate the performance of models, 70,906 patients were screened, including 70,090 from 5 US hospital-specific datasets and 816 from a Chinese hospital-specific dataset. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and the estimated calibration index (ECI) were used to evaluate the discrimination and calibration of models. ResultsRegarding the colorectal cancer prognosis prediction in our prototype system, compared with the reference models, our model achieved a better performance in model calibration (ECI = 9.294 [9.146, 9.441]) and a similar ability in model discrimination (AUC = 0.783 [0.780, 0.786]). Furthermore, the online learning process provided in this study can continuously improve the performance of the prediction model when patient data with specified labels arrive (the AUC value increased from 0.709 to 0.715 and the ECI value decreased from 13.013 to 9.634 after 650 patient instances with specified labels from the Chinese hospital arrived), enabling the prediction model to maintain a good predictive performance during clinical application. ConclusionsThis study proposes and evaluates a multicenter collaborative prediction model construction framework that can support the construction of prediction models with better generalizability and continuous improvement capabilities without the need to aggregate multicenter patient-level data.

Mitigating manifest supply chain disruptions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand if organizations can leverage recovery/continuous improvement (RCI) capabilities and two competencies to mitigate manifest supply chain (SC) disruptions. Specifically, the authors examine how learning from previous experience and SC disruption-orientation affects organizations’ capability to recover/continuously improve once a SC disruption has manifested. In addition, knowing that organizational inertia likely exists during disruptions, the authors examine the mediating effects of routine rigidity on proposed relationships.Design/methodology/approachTo determine how these antecedents impact an organization’s RCI capabilities, the authors collected survey data from 219 procurement managers and analyzed these records using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results indicate that by fostering SC disruption-orientation and developing competencies to learn from previous experience, firms can enhance their RCI capabilities, which in turn improves operational performance. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate how routine rigidity mediates the positive effects these antecedents have on the RCI capabilities construct.Originality/valueBy developing these risk management (RM) tactics and managing routine rigidity, organizations broaden their continuous improvement capability, which enables practitioners to respond to and recover from manifest disruptions. When used in conjunction with other RM tactics, such as inventory and/or redundant capacity, organizations can address an array of disruption scenarios.

The Impact of Standardization and Systematic Problem Solving on Team Member Learning and Its Implications for Developing Sustainable Continuous Improvement Capabilities

It is important for organizations to understand the factors responsible for establishing sustainable continuous improvement (CI) capabilities. This study uses learning curve experiments to examine learning obtained by team members (TMs) doing work with and without the application of fundamental aspects of the Toyota Production System (TPS). The results are used to develop a model to guide organizational activities toward achieving the ability to continuously improve in a sustainable fashion. This study uses learning curve experiments in model production cells to examine TM learning with and without the application of key elements of TPS to more clearly understand the role of systematic problem solving and standardization in creating sustainable CI processes. The results indicate that application of standardized work principles and elimination of formally defined waste using a systematic problem-solving methodology positively impacts TM learning and performance, providing the foundation for CI. Compared to their untreated counterparts, treated teams exhibit increased, more uniformly distributed, and more sustained learning outcomes.

A study of sustainability of continuous improvement in the manufacturing industries in Malaysia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of six variables: strategic focus; monitoring continuous improvement development; integration of continuous improvement; management of continuous improvement; involvement/engagement and learning; and knowledge sharing, on sustainability of continuous improvement capabilities in the context of the manufacturing industries in Penang, Malaysia. The paper determines the impact of organizational self‐assessment towards the relationship of these six factors and sustainability of continuous improvement capabilities.Design/methodology/approachThe study opted for an exploratory study using the survey instrument to collect data. The questionnaire was published through the web and manual distribution. For the web survey, e‐mails were broadcasted to invite the random employees to participate in the e‐mail survey, where respondents were directed to answer the attachment that contained the questionnaire. Online survey method is chosen because it is convenient, time and cost effective to intact with the respondents who are dispersed in different geographical areas.FindingsThe paper provides empirical insights about how strategic focus, management of continuous improvement and learning/knowledge sharing positively influence on sustainability of continuous improvement capabilities in an organization. It suggests that organizational self‐assessment has a mediating effect on the relationship between strategic focus, learning/knowledge sharing and sustainability of continuous improvement capabilities.Research limitations/implicationsThe complex nature of the process of sustaining continuous improvement capabilities as a research topic places limitations on this study, particularly in the area of sample selection and data collection. The major sample selection at the manufacturing organizations is difficult because an organization's perception in terms of continuous improvement may not be the same, thus it is not easy to ascertain relevant sample characteristics.Practical implicationsThe implications of this study highlighted that the most effective predictor for sustaining continuous improvement capabilities was strategic focus, in addition, this study provided insight into the mediating effect of organizational self‐assessment towards the effectiveness of sustaining continuous improvement capabilities in the manufacturing industry.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils an identified need to study how the effectiveness of sustaining continuous improvement capabilities can be developed.

Theory of reasoned action for continuous improvement capabilities: a behavioral approach

The importance of interaction between Operations Management (OM) and Human Behavior has been recently re-addressed. This paper introduced the Reasoned Action Theory suggested by Froehle and Roth (2004) to analyze Operational Capabilities exploring the suitability of this model in the context of OM. It also seeks to discuss the behavioral aspects of operational capabilities from the perspective of organizational routines. This theory was operationalized using Fishbein and Ajzen (F/A) behavioral model and a multi-case strategy was employed to analyze the Continuous Improvement (CI) capability. The results posit that the model explains partially the CI behavior in an operational context and some contingency variables might influence the general relations among the variables involved in the F/A model. Thus intention might not be the determinant variable of behavior in this context.

The design and implementation of the balanced scorecards in a manufacturing firm: a case study

The objectives of this case study are to illustrate how the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) has been implemented in the production division of the Qatar Steel Company (QASCO), to examine how the BSC can be used for strategic and sustainable continuous improvement, and to identify the similarities and differences in the nature of BSC implementation under different contexts. The findings of this study show the importance of the BSC for strategic and sustainable continuous improvement capability at the operational level. Our findings suggest that BSCs have proved to be a powerful tool for the strategic management not only of the overall company, but for the production division or at the operational level in particular. More importantly, it is expected that the results from this case study will provide useful guidelines for companies to assess their strengths and weaknesses towards the design and implementation of BSCs.

Continuous improvement capability in the Swedish engineering industry

This article reports findings from the Swedish part of the 2nd International Continuous Improvement Survey. Based on Bessant's evolutionary model of continuous improvement behaviour, the continuous improvement capability level of the Swedish engineering industry is estimated. The data analysis shows that there is a need for progression towards higher continuous improvement capability levels. Therefore, the specific abilities to develop in order to support such a move forward are clarified. In addition to being an illustration of manufacturing practices in Sweden from a continuous improvement perspective, this article contributes to the field of Operations Management by being the first attempt to replicate the work of Bessant via a large-scale survey study. The model is found valid and it shows that development of continuous improvement abilities contribute to the enhancement of plant performance.

Balanced scorecards for strategic and sustainable continuous improvement capability

Illustrates how strategic continuous improvement (CI) capabilities were developed in three Swedish manufacturing companies that have implemented the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). A multiple case study was conducted; each company followed a unique team‐based CI strategy. Shows how the use of BSC was adapted to the specific characteristics that each of the CI strategies entail. Furthermore, shows that it could be difficult to sustain the capability that was developed. However, also finds that certain mechanisms in the management control system, as well as the presence of an advanced work organisation, may help in sustaining the strategic CI capability.

Continuous improvement through collaborative action learning

The development of continuous improvement capability within a small firm can benefit from action learning and external collaboration with other firms. This paper describes an action research initiative with two objectives: 1) to facilitate continuous improvement of operations practice and performance through collaborative action learning in a small number of firms; and, 2) to develop an approach, of a contingent nature, to address this need which could be replicable both in Ireland and throughout Europe. In particular, the paper will describe the movement by five Irish firms towards 'World Class' operations practice and performance. A case study on one firm will be featured. The firm developed a capability to improve their operations as they participated and collaborated in the National Action Learning Program (NALP).

Continuous improvement capability: assessment within one case study organisation

Continuous improvement (CI) programmes have been recognised as one way of contributing to the productivity and efficiency within the manufacturing setting. However, the development of a sustainable CI programme has proved more problematic and in some cases fails to proceed any further than one‐off improvement activities. The research presented here illustrates the utility of Bessant and Caffyn’s framework for the development of CI capability, by assessing the structure of CI within one case study organisation. The structure of the CI programme and examples of CI activities provide evidence of the link to top down strategic business targets. The discussion suggests that the organisation has moved to a “goal oriented CI” where there is formal deployment of strategic goals through the structure of the CI activities and the relationship with business activities. Practical and theoretical implications of using this framework are considered.

Developing strategic continuous improvement capability

In developing CI capability, organisations need to move to a level of development in which strategic goals are communicated and deployed and where improvement activity is guided by a process of monitoring and measurement against these strategic objectives. Policy deployment of this kind is more prevalent in Japanese examples and in a handful of cases in Western firms. Implementing it poses significant challenges and requires a different and additional toolkit of enabling resources. This paper reports on the experience of policy deployment in Japan and in Western enterprises and explores some of the implementation issues raised.

Developing Continuous Improvement Capability

Dealing with complex and uncertain environments requires a steady stream of innovation as well as occasional radical transition. Developing mechanisms to secure such continuous improvement (CI) is seen as a major strategic priority for many organisations. In particular, it raises the challenge of increasing employee involvement in the innovation process and of mobilising widespread problem-solving and learning behaviour. This paper reports on a major five-year research programme in the United Kingdom which explores the implementation of high involvement incremental innovation activities. It presents a reference model developed in this work for helping position and guide organisations in their implementation of CI.