Purpose Companies create company-specific production systems (XPS) by tailoring generic concepts to fit their unique situation. However, little is known about how an XPS is created. This paper aims to provide insights into the creation of an XPS. Design/methodology/approach A retrospective case study was conducted in a Norwegian multinational company over the period 1991–2006, using archival data and interviews. Findings The development of the XPS did not start with a master plan. Instead, dispersed existing initiatives were built upon, along with an external search for novel ideas. Widespread experimentation took place, only later to be combined into a coherent approach. Once established, the XPS was disseminated internally and further refined. The CEO orchestrated the experimentation by facilitating the adaptation and combination of different concepts and by allocating resources to institutionalize the XPS in the global network. Originality/value This paper is the first to study how an XPS is created. This study contributes with novel empirical insights, and it highlights the role of top management in facilitating experimentation and step-by-step organizational learning.

Purpose: The shop-floor organization under lean production (LP) has been hotly debated for about three decades. As this organization concept leaves considerable room for interpretation, the content of lean-inspired changes can vary widely. This paper pleads for a contingency view of how LP is implemented and how the outcomes of lean-inspired changes rely on users’ interpretations of the concept in particular production contexts.Design/methodology/approach: A case study was conducted in two large Norwegian chemical plants. Data from the observations and interviews were supplemented by interviews with top managers in 2017 and 2018. The first author also followed a management audit in one plant, assessing the plant’s overall implementation of the company-specific production system.Findings: The lean-inspired changes in the company had brought about a shop-floor organization typically associated with sociotechnical design (STD), including extensive employee choice autonomy and a broad span of control.Originality/value: Our findings demonstrate the importance of understanding how lean is interpreted in different contexts. Our contingency view may aid organizational designers in making more-informed choices by clarifying relevant issues and trade-offs in lean implementations.

Purpose: ‘Company Specific Production Systems’ (XPS) aim to adopt ‘best practice’ across plants within a company. A pertinent issue in the literature involves the constraints in the possibilities of realising such an adoption. This paper addresses to what extent and how a Norwegian multinational succeeded in adopting the XPS in its local plants.Design/methodology/approach: A Brazilian, Chinese and Norwegian plant of a Norwegian electro-chemical company were studied from 2017 to 2019. Our data consist of the results of the plant’s assessment performance program, combined with interviews and observations at different organizational levels. Findings: The MNC had largely managed to adopt the XPS in these plants. This was made possible by creating a strong corporate culture, shaping the managers’ basic assumptions, and persuading lower-level management and operators to adopt the improvement programme. The corporate culture was the result of several initiatives including the deployment of different HRM practices, supported by top management teams and by using the Norwegian plant as a laboratory visited by global operators and managers. Originality/value: This paper is, to our knowledge, the first to study the actual use of an XPS intra-organizationally. It highlights the role of culture development and basic assumptions for achieving global adoption. Global improvement programmes require constant managerial attention and actions at several levels in order to be adopted globally.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of a company-specific lean program (a so-called company-specific production system [XPS]) on the company’s financial performance. This study analyzes data from the implementation of XPS in multiple plants of a multinational corporation and examines the results through an organizational learning lens. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a longitudinal single-case design to investigate a Norwegian multinational company in the process industry, producing silicon for the global market. The company has developed, implemented and institutionalized its own XPS since 1991. The program has directly contributed to extensive cost reduction and significantly strengthened the organization’s competitive position. Findings The findings of this study show a link between organizational learning and the improvement of financial results in the organization. This study presents a sand cone model that illustrates how the development and deployment of an XPS through individual- and orchestrated learning subsequently created a common platform for institutionalized learning within and across the multinational organization. This organizational learning capability managed to tie the company’s continuous improvement efforts directly to the improvement of cost levels throughout the value chain. Practical implications The practical implications of this work are significant, as this study uncovers the importance for managers to consider both individual-, orchestrated- and institutionalized learning (within and across a multinational network) when designing and implementing XPS to drive the improvement of an organization’s financial performance. Originality/value Documenting the financial impact of such programs is a common challenge. Therefore, the insights presented in this research are of value to both researchers and practitioners, in particular, managers and executives in large multinational organizations.

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