Purpose

Lean six sigma (LSS) has attained a prominent position in mature organizations but small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are struggling in the proper implementation of LSS in their core business. This study aims to make a comprehensive analysis of LSS implementation barriers in SMEs so that LSS execution can be much fluent in SMEs.

Design/methodology/approach

This research work is carried out based on investigation of LSS barriers through extensive literature review. For validating the identified barriers, a questionnaire survey was conducted, and out of 400 samples, 260 responses received back. The collected responses are analyzed statistically and found 16 significant barriers. The finalized barriers are modeled using interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and clustered them through matrice d’impacts croisés-multiplication appliquée a un classement (MICMAC) analysis. Furthermore, to check the consistency of results, ISM-MICMAC outcomes are validated through structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

The result reveals that 16 LSS implementation barriers are finalized through expert’s opinion and validated through statistical reliability test with Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.820. The ISM model reveals that the management relevant barriers are exhibiting the leading role to influence the implementation of LSS in SMEs. Moreover, the obtained results validated through SEM are found in good agreement.

Research limitations/implications

During pairwise comparisons, there may be some prejudice and subjectivity as human judgments are engaged.

Practical implications

This study provides impetus to practitioners and consultant for the initiation of LSS in the business organization through tackling the LSS barriers as per their driving and dependence power.

Originality/value

In the past, limited studies had explored the LSS barriers, but a few studies analyzed the mutual relationship between barriers. No such study is reported in literature that validates the mutual interaction model of LSS barriers. Hence, this paper presents the original research work of identification and modeling of barriers associated with LSS implementation in SMEs through hybrid ISM-SEM approach.

中文翻译：

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使用混合 ISM-SEM 方法调查和建模中小型工业中的精益六西格玛障碍

目的

精益六西格码 (LSS) 在成熟的组织中获得了突出地位，但中小型企业 (SME) 正在努力在其核心业务中正确实施 LSS。本研究旨在全面分析中小企业 LSS 实施障碍，使 LSS 执行在中小企业中更加流畅。

设计/方法/方法

这项研究工作是在通过广泛的文献回顾调查 LSS 障碍的基础上进行的。为了验证识别出的障碍，我们进行了问卷调查，在 400 个样本中，收到了 260 个回复。对收集到的回答进行统计分析，发现了 16 个重要的障碍。最终的障碍使用解释性结构建模 (ISM) 进行建模，并通过矩阵 d'impacts croisés-multiplication appliquée a un classement (MICMAC) 分析对它们进行聚类。此外，为了检查结果的一致性，ISM-MICMAC 结果通过结构方程模型 (SEM) 进行验证。

发现

结果表明，16个LSS实施障碍通过专家意见最终确定，并通过Cronbach's alpha值为0.820的统计可靠性检验进行验证。ISM模型表明，管理相关壁垒对中小企业LSS的实施具有主导作用。此外，通过 SEM 验证获得的结果具有良好的一致性。

研究限制/影响

在成对比较期间，由于涉及人类判断，因此可能存在一些偏见和主观性。

实际影响

本研究通过解决 LSS 障碍，根据他们的驱动力和依赖性，为从业者和顾问在商业组织中启动 LSS 提供动力。

原创性/价值

过去，对LSS障碍的探索有限，但也有少数研究分析了障碍之间的相互关系。文献中没有报道可以验证 LSS 障碍的相互交互模型的此类研究。因此，本文介绍了通过混合 ISM-SEM 方法识别和建模与中小企业 LSS 实施相关的障碍的原始研究工作。