Improving operational performance of manufacturing SMEs: the interactive effect of technical and human lean practices

PurposeAlthough understanding how different resources are interconnected within firms is important, there are few studies that have focused on this area. This study aims to explore the unique and interactive effects of technical lean practices (TLPs) and human lean practices (TLPs) on the operationa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The International journal of quality & reliability management 2023-03, Vol.40 (4), p.1092-1110
Main Authors: Al-Hakimi, Mohammed A., Goaill, Majid M., Al-Hattami, Hamood Mohammed, Murshid, Mohsen Ali, Saleh, Moad Hamod, Moghalles, Sami Abdulkareem Mohammed
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Best practice
Developing countries
Empirical analysis
Employee involvement
LDCs
Lean manufacturing
Manufacturing
Quality management
Regression analysis
Small & medium sized enterprises-SME
Small business
Synergistic effect
Total quality
Value engineering
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Summary:PurposeAlthough understanding how different resources are interconnected within firms is important, there are few studies that have focused on this area. This study aims to explore the unique and interactive effects of technical lean practices (TLPs) and human lean practices (TLPs) on the operational performance (OP) of manufacturing SMEs in Yemen, a less developed country (LDC).Design/methodology/approachDepending on data collected from 318 manufacturing SMEs in Yemen, the relationships in the proposed model were tested using hierarchical regression analysis via PROCESS Macro V. 3.5 in SPSS.FindingsThe results show that both TLPs and HLPs have unique effects on OP of SMEs. More importantly, both TLPs and HLPs have synergistic effects on OP.Practical implicationsThe study would be of interest to Lean practitioners, as the results of this study can be used in firms to put a focus on how TLPs and HLPs have to interact when it comes to the successful implementation of lean manufacturing (LM).Originality/valueAlthough research interest in LM is increasing, the interactive effects of TLPs and HLPs remain to be understood. This study provides an initial empirical evidence for performance outcomes from the interaction between TLPs and HLPs of SMEs in LDCs such as Yemen. Most of the previous studies on lean practices have focused on SMEs in developed countries, which may not fully apply to LDCs such as Yemen. This is helpful for SMEs' managers in the context of LDCs to understand how TLPs can further improve OP when interacting with HLPs.
ISSN:0265-671X
1758-6682
DOI:10.1108/IJQRM-12-2021-0443