Lean has been the dominant production paradigm for the past few decades. With its focus on reducing complexity, lean suggests to limit the use of digital technologies on the shop floor. Recent advancements in digital technologies, however, promise significant improvements through its ability to manage complexity. This apparent conflict raises the question as to whether these two paradigmslean and digitalizationcontradict or complement each other. Furthermore, there is ambiguity about whether or not firms should excel in lean before investing in digitalization. This paper contributes to this discussion through an empirical investigation of this relationship. It draws on survey data from Swiss manufacturers as well as consecutive interviews with selected firms. The analyses indicate a positive correlation between the digital maturity and the lean maturity of firms. This relationship is discussed from two perspectives: first, how digitalization can support lean and, second, how lean can support digitalization. Furthermore, the different characteristics of companies of different maturities in lean and digitalization are examined. It is concluded that a favorable organizational culture and some specific continuous improvement practices help the mature implementers of lean and digitalization to achieve superior operational performance.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate how soft lean practices moderate the performance effects of hard lean practices. The authors provide new evidence from the pharmaceutical industry, which is characterized by a highly regulated and technical environment and has been largely uncharted in the lean literature.Design/methodology/approachBased on a review of the literature, the authors define a set of soft and hard lean practices. The authors test the hypotheses using factor analysis and moderated hierarchical linear regression on a unique dataset containing survey data and real performance measures of 351 pharmaceutical plants.FindingsThe results show that soft lean practices can be both enabling and constraining. When management engages in performance measurement, visualisation and employee empowerment the relationship between hard lean practices and performance is positively moderated. On the other hand, when managers emphasise goal setting and work standardisation the performance outcomes are reduced.Practical implicationsEffective lean managers build organisational commitment by motivating other employees to implement lean. They use performance measurement, visualisation and employee empowerment to focus on the “why”. Less effective managers engage in commanding and micro-management. Such managers focus on the “what” by using practices like goal setting and work standardisation.Originality/valueThis article contributes to the literature on lean management by empirically testing the moderator-variable interaction effects between soft and hard lean practices. In addition, it adds new evidence from the important pharmaceutical industry.