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

Knapić, Viktorija (author), Rusjan, Borut (author), Božič, Katerina (author)

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.

• Language: English
• Keywords: entrepreneurship, SMEs, leadership, enablers and barriers, first-line employees, lean implementation, small- and medium-sized enterprises
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: EF - School of Economics and Business
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: Str. 277-308
• Numbering: Vol. 14, no. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-138372
• UDC: 658
• ISSN on article: 2040-4166
• DOI: 10.1108/IJLSS-08-2021-0141
• COBISS.SI-ID: 112112899
• Publication date in RUL: 18.07.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: International journal of lean six sigma
• Publisher: Emerald
• ISSN: 2040-4166
• COBISS.SI-ID: 517409049

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: podjetništvo, mala in srednja podjetja, vodenje

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P5-0410
• Name: Digitalizacija kot gonilo trajnostnega razvoja posameznika, organizacij in družbe