PurposeThe objective of this paper is to explore the critical success factors (CSFs) for Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in the Malaysian automotive industry.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the model drawing on a sample of 252 Malaysian automotive organisations. Exploratory factor analyses (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and reliability analysis empirically verified and validated the underlying items of CSFs of LSS.FindingsThe results of EFA, CFA, and reliability analysis show that two items for supplier relationship are recommended to be excluded from the analysis. The result indicates that LSS has identified 40 items as compared to the original questionnaire which had 42 items. Based on the survey of empirical data, the two factors of leadership and customer focus have been shown to be the extremely important factors for LSS implementation in the Malaysian automotive industry.Research limitations/implicationsFirstly, this survey is based only on the automotive industry in Malaysia, and therefore it is not generalisable to other industries. Secondly, there may be other CSFs for LSS such as culture change, project management skill, and employee involvement, which were not included in this study. Finally, for future research agenda, the authors are looking at the structural relationship between LSS practices and organizational performance in the Malaysian automotive industry.Originality/valueThe developed and tested content of this study fills the research gap by providing reliable and useful reference material on the CSFs of LSS. On top of that, the contribution for academic researchers and practitioners is to provide important guidelines for automotive and related companies to implement LSS strategic practices to improve organizational performance.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between total productive maintenance (TPM), kaizen event (KE) and innovation performance (IP) for Malaysian automotive industry using structural equation modeling (SEM). Design/methodology/approach The samples were selected from the list of Proton and Perodua automotive industry. The number of collected respondents was 238 respondents. An SEM technique was used in the study. In order to test the reliability and validity of the instrument, reliability analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted. Findings Based on the results, KE does not affect the relationship between TPM and IP. However, the impact of TPM on IP increases with mediating of KE for Malaysian automotive industry. Thus, this study has shown that empirical test results prove that the implementation of TPM and KE has improved the IP for Malaysian automotive industry. Research limitations/implications This study only focused on the Malaysian automotive industry. The other limitation in this research is the number of factors and limited measurement in this study. Only a few TPM, KE and IP measurements were considered. By using the SEM technique, four TPM constructs, three for KE constructs and three for IP measures were developed and verified. Therefore, this study can assist the researchers and practitioners to the practice of TPM, KE and IP for Malaysian automotive industry. Originality/value This research provides fundamental knowledge and direction for researchers in further research as well as practitioners to constantly improve IP through the implementation of TPM and KE for Malaysian automotive industry.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between environmental management accounting practices (EMAP), environmental management system (EMS) and organizational performance (OPM) for Malaysian manufacturing industry by using structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. Design/methodology/approach The population of the Malaysian manufacturing industry comprised 2,600 manufacturing companies. The unit of analysis is the organization that participated in the survey comprised of automotive/machinery, plastics/rubber/metal, food/tobacco, electrical/electronics and chemical/woods. Out of the 2,600 questionnaires sent to the respondents, 395 were received from manufacturing companies. The collected data are analyzed with the IBM SPSS Statistics and SEM technique. Findings Findings found that EMS implementation as a partial mediator to improve EMAP and OPM for Malaysian manufacturing industry. Further, the implementation of EMS was found to mediate the relationship between EMAP and OPM. Research limitations/implications The understanding of the importance of studying the relationship between EMAP, EMS and OPM has been emphasized in the present study. In fact, the findings of this study along with its limitations have paved the way for future research in EMAP, EMS and OPM areas. Practical implications This research provides important guidelines for manufacturers and related companies to implement EMAP and EMS in order to improve OPM. Hence, the Malaysian manufacturing industry may need to consider the measurement of EMAP, EMS and OPM as beneficial to their manufacturing companies. Originality/value The research contributes to the environmental management accounting by empirically linking the relationship between EMAP, EMS and OPM for Malaysian manufacturing industry.

Purpose The aim of this paper is to develop a model that incorporate lean six sigma (LSS) implementation, strategic control system (SCS) and organizational performance (OP) in Malaysian automotive suppliers. Design/methodology/approach A survey through questionnaire was conducted to determine the level of LSS implementation, SCS and OP measurement. In all, 252 sets of questionnaire were successfully collected that brought to 64.3 per cent response rate. Structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was adopted to analyze the data gathered from the survey. Exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis and confirmatory factor analysis for testing the construct validity, test for reliability and model measurement were carried out. Findings This study has provided a comprehensive measurement instrument to implement the LSS practices, SCS and OP for Malaysian automotive suppliers. As a result, seven LSS constructs, four for SCS and four measures for OP have been identified. This research model is a mediator model in which it investigates whether the presence of SCS mediates the relationship between LSS and OP. The analysis result through the SEM method showed that SCS does not affect the relationship between LSS and OP. However, SCS is improving OP when coupled with LSS. Research limitations/implications This study has only focused on the structured relationship between LSS Construct, SCS and OP measures. It is possible for other factors in the LSS practices to be studied in future experiments such as total productive maintenance, culture change, role structure and project management skills. Originality/value Future researchers could apply the LSS, SCS and OP measurement as a benchmark for use and can be replicated in other industry or country in the world with minor modifications on the critical factors necessary to suit the goals of the organization, culture and business environment. It could also be used as a business excellence and supplier selection tool for practitioners and researchers.

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