Resumen: Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the contribution to improving the efficiency of the focal firm made by lean management at the internal and supply chain levels.
Design/methodology/approach: An empirical study was conducted of 285 Spanish focal companies from industrial sectors that occupy an intermediate position in the supply chain. The data gathering method consisted of a telephone survey using computer-assisted telephone interviewing. A structural equation was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings: The results indicate that there is an improvement in efficiency of the focal firm when lean management extends throughout the supply chain, in line with the resource-based theory and integrated supply chain management. In addition, lean management at the internal level is observed to impact positively on the focal firm's efficiency only when it contributes to enhancing the implementation of lean supply chain management.
Practical implications: To achieve the best operational performance derived from lean management, managers should pay attention to the transfer to their supply chain members of knowledge, competencies and cultural change linked to the level of internal lean implementation of the focal firm. Moreover, this paper provides a way to assess the operational aspects of lean supply chain strategy implementation and lean supply chain planning.
Originality/value: This study uses a holistic focus on lean supply chain management, to which it applies a validated instrument. It underlines that lean on the internal level should be complemented with lean on the supply chain level to provide a better understanding of the drivers of the efficiency of the focal firm. Idioma: Inglés DOI: 10.1108/JMTM-10-2019-0388 Año: 2021 Publicado en: Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management 32, 1 (2021), 63-84 ISSN: 1741-038X Factor impacto JCR: 8.144 (2021) Categ. JCR: ENGINEERING, INDUSTRIAL rank: 10 / 50 = 0.2 (2021) - Q1 - T1 Categ. JCR: MANAGEMENT rank: 39 / 228 = 0.171 (2021) - Q1 - T1 Categ. JCR: ENGINEERING, MANUFACTURING rank: 10 / 51 = 0.196 (2021) - Q1 - T1 Factor impacto CITESCORE: 12.4 - Engineering (Q1) - Computer Science (Q1) - Business, Management and Accounting (Q1)