Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare the practices of continuous improvement that are applied in medium and large manufacturing and service companies in two Latin American countries. At the same time, benefits and barriers experienced by these companies with regard to sustainability of continuous improvement are explored. Design/methodology/approach In order to generate a comparative study between two Latin American countries, interviews were conducted with managers linked to continuous improvement in medium and large companies in the State of Puebla and the Metropolitan District of Quito, which are important areas in Mexico and Ecuador, respectively. Data were collected by means of document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and direct observation. Findings Companies in both countries identify the use of various techniques and/or tools for continuous improvement. The results of the empirical evidence show how the impact of the application of the techniques has been beneficial in economic and human terms. Thus, the exploratory study has permitted the identification of the drivers and inhibitors in the maintenance of continuous improvement. Research limitations/implications The research is based on only two areas of the Latin American countries: Mexico and Ecuador. Their results can therefore not be generalized. The approach is applied in a specific environment, namely, the State of Puebla and the Metropolitan District of Quito. This study incorporates the perception of managers, directors, and/or supervisors involved in continuous improvement processes. Practical implications This paper seeks to provide analytical input. The study is of great interest to researchers, managers, consultants, and professionals linked to projects of continuous improvement who wish to incorporate continuous improvement practices which are sustainable over time. A new managerial behavior is the basis of continuous improvement, where the training and development of the human resource increases the commitment to achieve organizational changes. Originality/value This research makes an empirical contribution to the literature through the understanding of practices of continuous improvement in a Latin American context, highlighting the factors that improve or impede the process of continuous improvement. Particularly in Mexico and Ecuador, the empirical evidence on this subject is still scarce despite the existence of theoretical academic literature.

ResumenObjeto: El propósito de este artículo es evaluar la práctica de mejora continua en medianas y grandes empresas de manufactura y servicios del Distrito Metropolitano de Quito (DMQ); examinar los beneficios y dificultades en el sostenimiento de la mejora continua; y, estudiar la participación de los diferentes niveles jerárquicos organizacionales en la práctica de mejora continua.Diseño/metodología/enfoque: Se condujo un estudio exploratorio. Se seleccionaron medianas y grandes empresas de servicios y de manufactura del DMQ. Los métodos cualitativos utilizados para obtener los datos fueron: observación directa, análisis documental y entrevistas a profundidad semi-estructuradas. Aportaciones y resultados:Los resultados muestran una preferencia por el uso de técnicas más sencillas para identificar y solucionar problemas como las siete herramientas básicas de calidad. Dentro de este artículo se describen a detalle los elementos potenciadores y las barreras que se presentan en el mantenimiento de la mejora continua.-479-

The purpose of this study is to examine empirically and quantitatively the degree of relationship between organizational culture and innovation. A study was conducted with 260 people occupying operational and administrative positions in smes in the Metropolitan District of Quito. The study examined the kind of organizational culture through the methodology proposed by Cameron and Quinn, based on the model Competing Value Framework, which allows it to identify and classify businesses by the type of dominant culture they have. The results show that the types of culture that impact favorably on innovation are the clan, market and adhocracy culture type, however, a very hierarchical culture has a low correlation. These results highlight the importance of organizational culture, and reinforce the idea that leadership generates performance improvement and organizational innovation.

El propósito de este estudio es examinar de manera empírica el impacto de la implementación del enfoque fábrica de servicio en el proceso de crédito de una institución financiera. La investigación se realizó en un banco importante del Ecuador, donde resulta clave el proceso de crédito. El estudio analiza los rasgos que caracterizan a un proceso tipo fábrica de servicios, según la matriz de procesos de servicios propuesta por Schmenner, Tinnilä y otros. Los resultados muestran el impacto que tiene la transformación de un proceso tipo servicio en masa a un proceso tipo fábrica de servicio, principalmente en eficiencia, con un beneficio fundamental en la reducción de tiempos de respuesta. Estos resultados resaltan la importancia que tiene la decisión de posicionamiento estratégico y refuerzan la idea que el movimiento por la diagonal de atracción hacia una fábrica de servicio genera mejoras en el desempeño de los procesos operativos.