Lean Management (LM) is an efficiency-oriented socio-technical management system whose main purpose is to eliminate any source of waste through the simultaneous reduction or minimization of the sources of internal and external variability (Womack, Jones, and Roos 1990;Shah and Ward 2007). The systematic reduction of these sources of variability at both the company level and throughout the supply chain enables business results to be improved and provides the ability to achieve a competitive advantage (Womack and Jones 1996; Moyano-Fuentes and Sacristán-Díaz 2012).On one hand, Supply Chain Management (SCM) has been used for planning and control of physical and information flows, internal and external logistics activities, and processes with other companies, and to address the relationship developed and the processes shared with customers and suppliers (Chen and Paulraj 2004; Kache and Seuring 2014). In recent years, SCM has come to be considered a key factor for increasing companies' efficacy and competitiveness (Frohlich and Westbrook 2001; Ataseven and Nair 2017). So, a suitable SCM strategy enables improvements to operating results in terms of greater efficiency in processes, a lower level of inventory, higher customer satisfaction, better quality, cost reductions, and improved delivery (Christopher and Towill 2000). This, along with an increase in global competitive pressure, has led to Lean principles spreading to the supply chain level with a view to optimizing interorganizational processes from the point-of-view of the end customer (Swenseth and Olson 2016). This has given rise to what is known as Lean Supply Chain Management (LSCM). LSCM consists of organizations directly linked by upstream and downstream flows of goods, services, finances, and information that work together to reduce costs and waste by efficiently and effectively pulling what is required to meet the

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the contribution to improving the efficiency of the focal firm made by lean management at the internal and supply chain levels.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical study was conducted of 285 Spanish focal companies from industrial sectors that occupy an intermediate position in the supply chain. The data gathering method consisted of a telephone survey using computer-assisted telephone interviewing. A structural equation was used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results indicate that there is an improvement in efficiency of the focal firm when lean management extends throughout the supply chain, in line with the resource-based theory and integrated supply chain management. In addition, lean management at the internal level is observed to impact positively on the focal firm's efficiency only when it contributes to enhancing the implementation of lean supply chain management.Practical implicationsTo achieve the best operational performance derived from lean management, managers should pay attention to the transfer to their supply chain members of knowledge, competencies and cultural change linked to the level of internal lean implementation of the focal firm. Moreover, this paper provides a way to assess the operational aspects of lean supply chain strategy implementation and lean supply chain planning.Originality/valueThis study uses a holistic focus on lean supply chain management, to which it applies a validated instrument. It underlines that lean on the internal level should be complemented with lean on the supply chain level to provide a better understanding of the drivers of the efficiency of the focal firm.

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