Simultaneous implementation of Six Sigma and knowledge management in hospitals

Gowen, Charles R.; Stock, Gregory N.; McFadden, Kathleen L.

doi:10.1080/00207540802496162

Cited by 46 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Because this relationship is already justified in the literature (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990;Lane et al, 2001;Lyles et al, 1996;Tu et al, 2006), the contribution of our study lies in observing this relationship in the context of the Six Sigma initiative, thus establishing a connection of practices like teamwork and process management to organizational learning by means of absorptive capacity, an issue absent in the research literature and whose exploration has been requested by previous studies Gowen et al, 2008;Wiklund and Wiklund, 2002). However, we wish to make two important comments that may orient future lines of research.…”

Section: Discussion Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…This study thus provides a possible reason for Six Sigma's positive results, one that follows the lines of Choo et al (2004;, who observe that formality and structuring in Six Sigma firm affect knowledge creation positively. We must not forget, however, that part of the literature supports a relationship in the opposite direction, where knowledge management constitutes an aid to quality management (Darroch and McNaughton 2003;Darroch et al, 2003;Gowen et al, 2008;Yeung et al, 2007).…”

Section: Discussion Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Six sigma, absorptive capacity and organisational learning orientation

Gutiérrez

Bustinza

Barrales‐Molina

2012

International Journal of Production Research

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The importance of the Six Sigma methodology in industry is growing constantly. However, there are few empirical studies that analyze the advantages of this methodology and its positive effects on organizational performance. The purpose of this paper is to extend understanding of the success of Six Sigma quality management initiatives by investigating the effects of Six Sigma teamwork and process management on absorptive capacity. It also seeks to understand the relation between absorptive capacity and organizational learning as two sources of sustainable competitive advantage. The information used comes from a larger study, the data for which were collected from a random sample of 237 European firms. Of these 237 organizations, 58 are Six Sigma organizations. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses. The main findings show that Six Sigma teamwork and process management positively affect the development of absorptive capacity. A positive and significant relationship is also observed between absorptive capacity and organizational learning orientation. The findings of this study justify Six Sigma implementation in firms. This study provides us with an in-depth understanding of some structural elements that characterize the Six Sigma methodology, enabling us to provide an explanation for its success.

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Section: Discussion Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Discussion Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Six sigma, absorptive capacity and organisational learning orientation

Gutiérrez

Bustinza

Barrales‐Molina

2012

International Journal of Production Research

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“…CQI is measured by five items adapted from common elements of several past reviews and studies (Flynn et al, 1995;Goldstein and Schweikhart, 2002;Ryan, 2007;Sila and Ebrahimpour, 2002;Tari, 2005). The Six Sigma initiatives construct consists of four items that were reported in Gowen et al (2008) and similar to other study items (Zu et al, 2008). Lean management initiatives are measured by five items that were adapted from the literature (Arthur, 2011b;Graban, 2009;Protzman et al, 2010).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting continuous quality improvement, Six Sigma, and lean management for enhanced outcomes in US hospitals

Gowen

McFadden

Settaluri

2012

American Journal of Business

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Purpose-Rapidly rising healthcare costs, partially due to preventable medical errors, have led hospitals to redouble their process improvement (PI) efforts. The purpose of this paper is to examine how PI initiatives mediate the effect of medical error sources to enhance three hospital outcomes (patient safety, operational effectiveness, and competitiveness). Design/methodology/approach-Drawing from Dynamic Capabilities Theory, the authors develop a framework to explore three PI initiatives: Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI), Six Sigma Initiatives (SSI), and Lean Management Initiatives (LMI). Hierarchical regression analysis is employed to test the proposed model, using data from a nationwide survey of 210 US hospitals. Findings-For enhancing patient safety outcomes, it was found that CQI and LMI were significant in mediating hospital error sources; however, SSI was not significant after accounting for the other two PI types. For improving organizational effectiveness, CQI and SSI were significant; whereas LMI was not significant over and above the other two PI types. Finally, only SSI was significant for superior sustainable competitive advantage. Research limitations/implications-The paper provides insight into which PI initiatives were most effective for various hospital outcomes. The findings can benefit healthcare practitioners as they select among different PI programs for enhancing healthcare results. Limitations of the study include the use of perceptual measures, relatively small sample size, and potential alternate relationships relevant to the outcome variables. Originality/value-This is the first study to explore the mediating effects of three PI programs for the impact of medical errors on each of three hospital outcomes.

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“…Villarreal et al, 2016a;Villarreal et al, 2016b;Sternberg et al, 2013), healthcare (e.g. Hicks et al, 2015;Gowen III et al, 2008;Cudney et al, 2013), among others. However, although there seems to be a large amount of Lean and/or Six Sigma projects deployed in the iron ore industry (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Lean Six Sigma framework for the reduction of ship loading commercial time in the iron ore pelletising industry

Garza‐Reyes

Al-Balushi

Antony

et al. 2016

Production Planning & Control

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Evidence suggests that specifically designed frameworks to implement Lean Six Sigma (LSS) projects to tackle particular problems are more effective than "generic" versions. This paper proposes an implementation framework to effectively deploy LSS to improve a key operation and performance indicator, i.e. ship loading commercial time, of one of the largest world producer of iron ore. This article therefore contributes with a refined framework to effectively implement LSS, and documents its successful application and effectiveness within the context of the case organisation. The LSS framework and project contributed in helping the studied organisation to improve both the capability of its ship loading process and commercial time by more than 30 percent, resulting in operational savings in the range of $300,000 USD per year. The systematic nature of the framework proposed also helped the organisation to establish a standardise routine to improve its operations. Managerial implications exposing the challenges faced during the implementation of LSS are also discussed to serve as lessons learnt to be considered in other LSS projects. Managers and engineers in charge of improving operations and processes can benefit from this paper as it can be used as a guide to direct the conduction of LSS projects and the empirical application of its principles and tools.

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Simultaneous implementation of Six Sigma and knowledge management in hospitals

Cited by 46 publications

References 30 publications

Six sigma, absorptive capacity and organisational learning orientation

Six sigma, absorptive capacity and organisational learning orientation

Contrasting continuous quality improvement, Six Sigma, and lean management for enhanced outcomes in US hospitals

A Lean Six Sigma framework for the reduction of ship loading commercial time in the iron ore pelletising industry

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