scholarly journals Key lessons to maintain continuous improvement: A case study of four companies

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Paipa-Galeano ◽  
César A. Bernal-Torres ◽  
Luís Mauricio Agudelo Otálora ◽  
Yavar Jarrah Nezhad ◽  
Heither A. González-Blanco
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Sustainable Improvement ◽  
Systematic Improvement ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Business Competitiveness ◽  
And Control

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the conditions under which continuous improvement practices are developed and to determine what success factors and barriers affect the sustainability of these practices in order to establish strategies that reduce the risk of failure of improvement proposals in companies.Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents a rigorous review of the success factors and barriers in the implementation of continuous improvement models in companies and a multiple case study in which four successful companies located in Bogota, Colombia, were compared using Bessant's maturity model.Findings: The results suggest the existence of systematic improvement processes in the four companies analysed in favour of the improvement of business competitiveness. After a convergence exercise between the success factors identified in the literature and the routines of the evaluation model used to identify the maturity of the companies in terms of improvement, five strategic fronts were identified to achieve sustainable improvement proposals:(1)have management commit to the improvement and guarantee resources, (2) define a methodology to implement, (3) facilitate and systematize the information on the interventions, (4) design training programs and incentives to encourage employee involvement, and (5) generate a verification and control system to provide real-time feedback on the progress of the improvement actions.Research limitations/implications: This research paper was limited by the analysis of four large Colombian companies, which did not allow the generalizability of findings. Therefore, the study offers interesting insights on the empirical evidence on the lessons learned from continuous improvement practices in order to support managers on better decision making and for the academics on better understanding continuous improvement drivers.Originality/value: The present investigation provides a conceptual framework for future studies related to the sustainability of continuous improvement in industry, approaching this topic from a theoretical and practical perspective.

scholarly journals Levels in the evolution of continuous improvement: A multiple case study

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan A. Marin-Garcia ◽  
Yolanda Bautista-Poveda ◽  
Julio J. Garcia-Sabater
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Multiple Case Study ◽  
Multiple Case

Managing Corporate E-Mail Systems

2011 ◽  
pp. 254-281
Author(s):  
Aidan Duane ◽  
Patrick Finnegan
Keyword(s):  
Major Elements ◽  
Electronic Business ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
And Control ◽  
Mail System ◽  
E Mail

As the criticality of e-mail for electronic business activity increases, adhoc e-mail implementation, prolonged management neglect and user abuse of e-mail systems have generated negative effects. However, management’s ability to rectify problems with e-mail systems is hindered by our understanding of its organisational use. Research on e-mail systems is often dated and based on quantitative methodologies that cannot explain the interaction between various controls in organisational settings. Updating our understanding of the organisational aspects of e-mail systems utilizing qualitative methods is necessary. This chapter presents a multiple case study investigation of e-mail system monitoring and control. The study examines the interaction between key elements of e-mail control identified by previous researchers and considers the role of such controls at various implementation phases. The findings reveal eight major elements to be particularly important in monitoring and controlling e-mail systems within the organisations studied. These are: (1) form a cross-functional e-mail system management team; (2) implement and regularly update e-mail management software; (3) formulate a detailed and legally sound e-mail policy; (4) engage in structured e-mail system training; (5) create and maintain ongoing awareness of e-mail policy; (6) engage in a process of hybrid feedback and control-based e-mail monitoring; (7) firmly enforce discipline in accordance with the e-mail policy; and (8) conduct regular reviews and updates of the e-mail management programme.

Some Key Success Factors in Web-Based Corporate Training in Brazil

2010 ◽  
pp. 188-207
Author(s):  
Luiz Antonio Joia
Keyword(s):  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Corporate Training ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Critical Dimensions ◽  
Key Success Factors ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Quantitative Data Analysis ◽  
Multiple Case

Brazilian companies are increasingly turning to web-based corporate training by virtue of the fact that they need to train their employees within tight budget constraints in a country of continental dimensions. However, most of these companies do not know what the critical success factors in these endeavors are. Therefore, this chapter seeks to investigate some key success factors associated with such digital enterprises. In order to achieve this, the multiple case study method is used, whereby two cases, both conducted within the same Brazilian company, leading to opposite outcomes – a success and a failure – are analyzed in depth. Accordingly, the two aforementioned cases are investigated by using quantitative data analysis based on bi- and multi-variate linear regressions, as well as t-tests. The conclusions were that “Goal Orientation”, “Source of Motivation”, and “Metacognitive Support” were the three critical dimensions in these two web-based corporate training programs under analysis.

ACHIEVING MANUFACTURING FLEXIBILITY: THE ROLE OF PEOPLE, TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

2010 ◽  
Vol 07 (02) ◽  
pp. 161-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
HAIRULLIZA MOHAMAD JUDI ◽  
ROGER BEACH
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Technology Innovation ◽  
Multiple Case Study ◽  
Manufacturing Flexibility ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Electric Sector ◽  
Multiple Case

This study examines the contribution of a pair of opposite factors: technology versus people, and innovation vs. continuous improvement to obtain manufacturing flexibility. These factors are opposing as they play different roles in TQM and BPR. An exploratory multiple case study was conducted that involves three Malaysian manufacturing companies from electronic and electric sector. The results show that flexibility could not be achieved through technology solely, but by combining technology with people, the required outcome is attainable. By applying innovation and continuous improvement simultaneously, it will yield better flexibility than if only one of them was used. The contribution of these factors in the selected manufacturing setting could guide practitioners to obtain flexibility and verify the research model that could be tested further in a survey.

scholarly journals LEAN SIX SIGMA: MULTIPLE CASE STUDY

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Orlando Roque Da Silva ◽  
Alessandro Marco Rosini ◽  
Arnoldo J H Guevara ◽  
Angelo Palmisano ◽  
Delvio Venanzi
Keyword(s):  
Six Sigma ◽  
Lean Manufacturing ◽  
Lean Six Sigma ◽  
Value Stream Mapping ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Value Stream ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Mapping Techniques ◽  
And Control

Lean Six Sigma is a management focused on quality and productive performance in operating systems. This article discusses the foundations of this methodology through of two different conceptions of management, Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma. First of the article explain the DMAIC (define measure, analyze, improve and control) and their respective phases, after the Lean philosophy with the sipoc and value stream mapping techniques. The article aims to show integration of these two conception and their results. The methodology consisted in a theory was based on a literature search an exploratory research which consisted of three case studies in differences companies located in Sorocaba, São Paulo. In this article studies the applying of Lean Six Sigma and its results.

INNOVATION MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES OF A SYSTEM INTEGRATOR IN INNOVATION NETWORKS

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (06) ◽  
pp. 1047-1064 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAAKKO PAASI ◽  
KATRI VALKOKARI ◽  
TUIJA RANTALA ◽  
HENRI HYTÖNEN ◽  
SOILI NYSTÉN-HAARALA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Integration ◽  
Innovation Management ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Multiple Case Study ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Innovation Networks ◽  
High Demand ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Component Assembly

The paper describes findings from a multiple case study about the innovation management challenges of a system integrator (SI) whose operation is characterized by a high demand of innovation and whose focus of integration capabilities is, accordingly, changing from component assembly to knowledge integration. The study involved six diverse case firms, and it applied the methodology of qualitative research. Innovation networks orchestrated by the SI were categorized, according to the way in which knowledge and intellectual property (IP) were explored and exploited in the network, to sourcing (transaction) and co-creation types of networks. The research question of the study was, what aspects of sourcing networks and of co-creation networks support or hinder networked innovation from the viewpoint of a SI and innovation management? After iteratively addressing the lessons learned from literature and empirical case findings, sets of supporting and hindering aspects were presented as implications of the study.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document