Importance of first-line employees in lean implementation in SMEs: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Purpose Existing research evidence shows a fragmented understanding of the roles of first-line employees (FLEs) as essential factors for successful lean implementation in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), provoking recent calls for additional research on the identification of enablers and barriers for lean acceptance among workers. Therefore, this paper aims to identify related enablers and barriers to lean implementation among FLEs and determine future research avenues for improving the understanding of lean methodology implementation in SMEs. Design/methodology/approach Relying on a systematic literature review methodology, the authors aimed to synthesize and evaluate available peer-reviewed papers on the role of FLEs in lean implementation in SMEs. General descriptive and thematic analysis comprehensively depicted the selected research topic and identified the main themes within collected papers and potential future research questions. Findings The authors identified four main themes related to FLEs’ role in lean implementation: cultural change factors, employee characteristics, management involvement and lean job design. Within each theme, the authors present a comprehensive overview of FLE-related factors and associated enablers and barriers that should be considered for a successful lean implementation in SMEs. Practical implications The research outcomes are important to practicing managers in SMEs, helping them facilitate lean acceptance and enhance the likelihood of successful lean implementation. Originality/value The insights from this study present building blocks in developing a lean implementation model for SMEs that considers the FLEs’ role more comprehensively.

The Indirect Effect of Customer Relations on Lean Social Factors and Organizational Readiness for Change Amongst Manufacturing Smes in Nigeria: PLS-Sem Approach

“…The findings may result from the nature of Nigerian manufacturing SMEs in manufacturing mostly consumable items and less advanced products, as posited by (the Bank of Industry, 2018). The findings also relate to the study of (Knapic et al, 2022;Uluskan et al, 2018). H8 shows that employee relations positively and significantly affect the change commitment dimension of organizational readiness for change.…”

“…Employee relations refer to employees' participation in improving quality and performance (Uluskan et al, 2018). It involves employees' responsibility for the quality, feedback on their quality performance, involvement in quality decisions, and reward for superior quality that can enhance employees' readiness for change to Lean (Knapic et al, 2022). It is apparent from the studies on Lean readiness that the role played by employees is very significant to the successful deployment of Lean in manufacturing firms.…”

“…Hence, enhance customer relationships and deliver excellent value through a synergetic relationship with social factors (organizational culture, leadership/ top management, employee relation). Bouranta et al (2021) and Knapic et al (2022) argue that full integration of social factors ensures the foundation for Lean and covers all social gaps. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure organizations effectively manage customer relations and that all its social activities (organizational culture, leadership/top management employees) are geared towards delivering customer value.…”

Indirect Effect of Customer Relations on Leadership/Top Management, Employee Relations and Process Management in Examining the Readiness of SMEs to Implement Lean Initiatives

“…Such lack of resources has made it a necessity for small businesses to adopt lean initiatives within their business processes to minimize waste, improve quality and deliver value to the customer. Studies have shown that the role of leadership/top management and employee relations are pivotal to the actualization of effective process management that can be geared towards delivering value to the customer and removal of any non-adding value activities, which is the fundamental principle of lean philosophy (Knapic et al, 2022;Nagamani Subramanian & Suresh, 2023).…”

“…Thus, a need for SMEs to deploy lean initiatives within their business to eradicate waste, improve quality, reduce Therefore, in order to successfully implement lean initiatives and reduce implementation failure, the study intends to investigate the level of readiness for lean implementation among Nigerian manufacturing SMEs, with a focus on leadership/top management, employee relations, process management, and customer relations. (Knapic et al, 2022;Prasad et al, 2023;Shafiq & Soratana, 2020). Based on the recommendations of scholars on the need for future studies regarding lean to be conducted in developing countries with an emphasis on leadership/ top management and employee relations Rodgers et al, 2021).…”