CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 81Quality and Supply ManagementManagement and Optimization TechniquesDigital Transformation in Industry

Evaluation of critical success factors (CSFs) to lean implementation in SMEs using AHP: A case study

Belhadi, Amine, Touriki, Fatima Ezahra, Elfezazi, Said·2019·International Journal of Lean Six Sigma
DOI 10.1108/ijlss-12-2016-0078
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Purpose: In an attempt to promote the implementation of lean in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), the purpose of this paper is to determine and to evaluate success factors critical to the implementation of lean in SMEs. This will help SMEs to redirect and stepwise strategies for implementing lean and overcome the financial and technical limitations that are hindering smaller companies to address a large set of factors at the same time. Design/methodology/approach: This research proposes the use of a two-phase research methodology. First, 28 critical success factors (CSFs) were identified and grouped into five categories: policy, leadership and management, funding, technic and process, culture, humans and competencies, market, customers and suppliers and understanding, methodology and implementation. Second, a structural model based on the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was proposed to prioritize the identified CSFs. A practical case study is conducted in a small automotive supplier to validate the proposed model, take inputs and solve the problem under study. Findings: The results show that CSFs related to “Policy, leadership and management” are found to be the most significant for SMEs to successfully implement lean production. This is followed closely by CSFs from the category of “Understanding, methodology and implementation”. CSFs of “Culture, humans and competencies” and “Funding, technique and process” are the third and fourth prominent categories. At the end of the priority list come CSFs of “Market, customers and suppliers”. Originality/value: The present study has a twofold contribution that complete the existing literature. First, the study is focused on small companies which have not received sufficient attention. Second, it provides a more accurate, effective and systematic decision support tool for selecting the most prominent CSFs to redirect lean efforts in SMEs in a stepwise manner.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1108/ijlss-12-2016-0078

Cites

48 of 48 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Belhadi, A., Touriki, F. E., & Elfezazi, S.
Affiliations
Cadi Ayyad University (MA)
ORCID
Venue
International Journal of Lean Six Sigma
Publisher
Emerald
Published
2019-08-16
Volume
10
Issue
3
Pages
803-829
ISSN
2040-4166 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1108/ijlss-12-2016-0078
OpenAlex
W2897363625
Cited by
81
References
48
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4
FWCI
10.57
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.emeraldinsight.com/page/tdm (tdm)
Locations
International Journal of Lean Six Sigma (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management Information Systems › Quality and Supply Management
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Management and Optimization Techniques
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering › Digital Transformation in Industry
Keywords
lean manufacturing, small and medium-sized enterprises, success factors, lean implementation, analytic hierarchy process, leadership and management, organizational culture, automotive suppliers, decision support system, implementation prioritization

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review