Lean management systems adoption and financial performance: a multiple method applied analysis

This research, by examining a sample composed by some of the best Italian SMEs that are engaged in a lean effort and by adopting a multi-method approach, investigates the relationship between the level of implementation of lean systems, the adoption of a set of “high involvement” management behaviors and a sustained financial performance, controlling for such variables as the duration of the “lean journey” and the size of the firm. Through fuzzy-set analysis, this study focuses on the process of financial value creation within a firm due to the lean transformation and on the complex relation among its determinants.