Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify, present and categorise the main requirements, challenges and impacts of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) applications. Emphasis is given to the soft impacts of LSS applications, which are intangible in nature and difficult to quantify and measure, highlighting the most frequently cited ones.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative synthesis of the studies using the narrative synthesis approach is adopted to descriptively summarise and categorise the requirements, challenges and impacts of LSS applications. The studies were searched by using the following keywords: “LSS applications,” “LSS requirements,” “LSS challenges” and “LSS impacts” in almost all major electronic databases such as Emerald, Taylor and Francis, ScienceDirect and Wiley. A total of 116 articles published between 2007 and 2017 in 41 academic journals were collected and reviewed. Consideration was also given to a number of substantial publications in 2006, 2018 and 2019.

Findings

In addition to its process efficiency and financial impacts, LSS was found to have another impact category related to individual and organisational behaviours. Management commitment, training and organisational culture were concluded to be amongst the most important and required categories for successful LSS applications. It was also found that the lack of awareness of LSS tools and benefits and the lack of change management and resistance to change were amongst the most cited categories of implementation challenges.

Research limitations/implications

The studies published between 2007 and 2017 are mainly considered in this paper. It is believed that 10-year publication period considered in this research is sufficient to study the evolution, benefits, limitations and future trends of a particular research topic. However, the exclusion criteria used in the search process with respect to the articles’ year of publication and search terms and keywords may limit the generalisation of the research findings. In addition, the qualitative nature of this research study and the lack of empirical data to support its findings is another limitation that future research should consider.

Practical implications

This research paper may serve as a valuable source of information for LSS researchers as it will provide them with useful and new insights and directions for further research in LSS. It will also increase the awareness of LSS practitioners about the kind of impact LSS has, and therefore, achieve a better utilisation of its tools by ensuring availability of application requirements and overcoming application challenges.

Originality/value

This study differs from previous research studies as it focusses attention on the soft impacts of LSS applications and highlights them. The study identifies and prioritises LSS application impacts, requirements and challenges. The study on these aspects was found to be limited and lacking in previous research studies.

中文翻译：

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精益六西格码应用的需求，挑战和影响–定性研究的叙述性综合

目的

本文的目的是确定，提出和分类精益六西格玛（LSS）应用程序的主要要求，挑战和影响。重点介绍了LSS应用程序的软影响，该影响本质上是无形的，难以量化和衡量，强调了最常引用的应用。

设计/方法/方法

采用叙述性综合方法对研究进行定性综合，以描述性地总结和分类LSS应用程序的要求，挑战和影响。使用以下关键字搜索了这些研究：几乎所有主要电子数据库（例如Emerald，Taylor和Francis，ScienceDirect和Wiley）中的“ LSS应用程序”，“ LSS要求”，“ LSS挑战”和“ LSS影响”。收集并审查了2007年至2017年之间在41种学术期刊上发表的116篇文章。还考虑了2006年，2018年和2019年的一些重要出版物。

发现

除了流程效率和财务影响外，LSS还具有与个人和组织行为有关的另一种影响类别。管理承诺，培训和组织文化被认为是成功实施LSS的最重要和必需的类别之一。还发现缺乏对LSS工具和收益的认识以及缺乏变更管理和对变更的抵制是在实施挑战中被引用最多的几类。

研究局限/意义

本文主要研究2007年至2017年之间发表的研究。据认为，本研究考虑的10年出版期足以研究特定研究主题的演变，收益，局限性和未来趋势。但是，在搜索过程中相对于文章的出版年份以及搜索词和关键字所使用的排除标准可能会限制研究结果的概括性。此外，本研究的定性性质以及缺乏支持其研究结果的经验数据是未来研究应考虑的另一个局限性。

实际影响

本研究论文可能为LSS研究人员提供有价值的信息来源，因为它将为他们提供进一步的LSS研究有用的新见解和方向。它还将提高LSS从业者对LSS产生的影响的认识，因此，通过确保应用程序需求的可用性和克服应用程序挑战，可以更好地利用其工具。

创意/价值

这项研究与以前的研究不同，因为它着重关注LSS应用程序的软影响并强调它们。该研究确定并优先考虑LSS应用程序的影响，要求和挑战。在以前的研究中，发现对这些方面的研究是有限的和缺乏的。