The Role of Middle Managers in Becoming Lean: A Systematic Review and Synthesis of the Literature
Freek Hermkens, Sharon Dolmans, Georges Romme
Journal of Economics, Management and Trade · pp. 1–17 · Published 7 Dec 2017
10.9734/JEMT/2017/38100Abstract
Aims: Many organizations adopt the Lean management approach to create a culture of continuous improvement (CI), but often fail to accomplish such a change. Previous studies have explained this high failure rate in terms of poor leadership and management, including the role of middle managers. However, the body of knowledge about the role and influence of middle management in Lean CI is underdeveloped and highly dispersed. Some earlier work suggests that middle managers can both enable and hinder CI initiatives, but a systematic overview is missing. This paper provides a systematic review of the literature to develop a mechanism-based framework that explains the success and failure of CI initiatives in which middle managers are key agents. This study therefore aims to develop an evidence-based framework of key aspects of middle management roles in CI practices drawing on Lean. Methodology: We conducted a mechanism-based systematic review of the literature. In total, 203 publications were selected and then reviewed in detail. This review focuses on how middle managers influence the implementation and success/failure of Lean CI initiatives. Results: The review of the literature on CI/Lean and middle management results in two frameworks. Each of these frameworks assumes that top management consistently seeks to implement a particular (archetypical) philosophy of CI/Lean: the first framework assumes an integral management approach and the second one starts from the assumption that a cost-cutting strategy is adopted. Each of these two frameworks in itself reflects some of the key tensions and challenges arising from any CI/Lean change effort, especially for middle managers. In practice, the two conditions may overlap, which creates an additional level of complexity. Overall, our review provides an understanding of the (non)conditions in which continuous improvement initiatives are likely to succeed or fail, and as such also provides a starting point for future research as well as practical work in this area.
References (87)
- 1 Social Theory and Social Structure [DOI]
- 2 New Patterns of Management. [DOI]
- 3 STUDYING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT: CHALLENGES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH. [DOI]
- 4 The genealogy of lean production [DOI]
- 5 Occupational Communities: Culture and Control in Organizations
- 6 Emotional Balancing of Organizational Continuity and Radical Change: The Contribution of Middle Managers [DOI]
- 7 Experimental Vignette Studies in Survey Research [DOI]
- 8 Lean viewed as a philosophy [DOI]
- 9 Middle Management’s Strategic Influence and Organizational Performance [DOI]
- 10 A Pragmatist Theory of Social Mechanisms [DOI]
- 11 The Middle Management Perspective on Strategy Process: Contributions, Synthesis, and Future Research [DOI]
- 12 Defining lean production: some conceptual and practical issues [DOI]
- 13 The evolution of lean Six Sigma [DOI]
- 14 The role of communication and management support in a lean manufacturing implementation [DOI]
- 15 All changes great and small: Exploring approaches to change and its leadership [DOI]
- 16 How middle managers' group‐focus emotions and social identities influence strategy implementation [DOI]
- 17 Lean, six sigma and lean sigma: fads or real process improvement methods? [DOI]
- 18 Lean Solutions: How Companies and Customers Can Create Value and Wealth Together
- 19 Lean and the working environment: a review of the literature [DOI]
- 20 Designing Vignette Studies in Marketing [DOI]
- 21 Prominent obstacles to lean [DOI]
- 22 The lean service machine.
- 23 Continuous improvement philosophy – literature review and directions [DOI]
- 24 Design of lean manufacturing systems using value stream mapping with simulation [DOI]
- 25 Casting the lean spell: The promotion, dilution and erosion of lean management in the NHS [DOI]
- 26 Building a high‐commitment lean culture [DOI]
- 27 Lost in transition: the transfer of lean manufacturing to construction [DOI]
- 28 A comparative analysis of integrating lean concepts into supply chain management in manufacturing and service industries [DOI]
- 29 Why continuous improvement initiatives fail in manufacturing environments? A systematic review of the evidence [DOI]
- 30 Process improvement programmes: a model for assessing sustainability [DOI]
- 31 Lean and six sigma – critical success factors revisited [DOI]
- 32 Learning to be lean: the influence of external information sources in lean improvements [DOI]
- 33 A framework for organisational change management in lean manufacturing implementation [DOI]
- 34 Performance of organisations treating lean as an ideology [DOI]
- 35 Careering Downwards? Middle Managers' Experiences in the Downsized Organization [DOI]
- 36 A sustainable continuous improvement methodology at an aerospace company [DOI]
- 37 A new framework for managing change [DOI]
- 38 The Strategic Middle Manager: How to Create and Sustain Competitive Advantage
- 39 The Competing Roles of Middle Management: Negotiated Order In the Context of Change [DOI]
- 40 The depowerment of European middle managers [DOI]
- 41 A FMEA-based approach to prioritize waste reduction in lean implementation [DOI]
- 42 Downsizings, mergers, and acquisitions [DOI]
- 43 Stimulating Knowledge Search Routines and Architecture Competences: The Role of Organizational Context and Middle Management [DOI]
- 44 Bessant's continuous improvement model: revisiting and revising [DOI]
- 45 Embedded leadership: How do a leader's superiors impact middle-management performance? [DOI]
- 46 A structural equation model for continuous improvement: a test for capabilities, tools and performance [DOI]
- 47 Developing actionable knowledge on value crafting: A design science approach [DOI]
- 48 Middle managers' role in transferring person-centered management and care [DOI]
- 49 The middle manager as innovator. 1982.
- 50 Reasons and rationalizations : the limits to organizational knowledge
- 51 Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. [DOI]
- 52 The machine that changed the world [DOI]
- 53 Learning to evolve [DOI]
- 54 Strategizing Throughout the Organization: Managing Role Conflict in Strategic Renewal [DOI]
- 55 Using knowledge within small and medium‐sized firms: A systematic review of the evidence [DOI]
- 56 Middle management involvement in strategy and its association with strategic type: A research note [DOI]
- 57 Lean production, six sigma quality, TQM and company culture [DOI]
- 58 Dynamic capabilities through continuous improvement infrastructure [DOI]
- 59 The Very Separate Worlds of Academic and Practitioner Periodicals in Human Resource Management: Implications for Evidence-Based Management [DOI]
- 60 Dinosaurs or dynamos? Recognizing middle management's strategic role [DOI]
- 61 Critical success factors for implementing lean production: the effect of contingencies [DOI]
- 62 The Antecedents of Middle Managers’ Strategic Contribution: The Case of a Professional Bureaucracy [DOI]
- 63 In praise of middle managers.
- 64 Sustainability: the elusive element of process improvement [DOI]
- 65 A guide to systematic reviews [DOI]
- 66 Implementation of Lean Six Sigma in small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in the Netherlands [DOI]
- 67 Critical success factors for Lean Six Sigma programmes: a view from middle management [DOI]
- 68 Lean service operations: translating lean production principles to service operations [DOI]
- 69 Normalized Intensity: The New Labour Process of Middle Management [DOI]
- 70 From strategy to action [DOI]
- 71 Middle Managers and the Translation of New Ideas in Organizations: A Review of Micro‐practices and Contingencies [DOI]
- 72 Think Locally, Act Globally: Cultural Constraints in Personnel Management [DOI]
- 73 The mediating role of organizational capabilities in the relationship between middle managers’ involvement and firm performance: A European study [DOI]
- 74 Developing a Human‐centred and Science‐based Approach to Design: The Knowledge Management Platform Project [DOI]
- 75 Rethinking Lean Service [DOI]
- 76 The Value of Lean in the Service Sector: A Critique of Theory & Practice
- 77 Leading Middle Management: Consequences of Organisational Changes for Tasks and Behaviours of Middle Managers [DOI]
- 78 The impact of middle management commitment on improvement initiatives in public organisations [DOI]
- 79 Modelling continuous improvement maturity in the public sector: key stages and indicators [DOI]
- 80 Lean Implementation in a Low Volume Manufacturing Environment: a Case Study
- 81 Critical incidents of quality orientation in lower and middle management [DOI]
- 82 The Role of Leaders in the Initiation and Implementation of Manufacturing Process Change [DOI]
- 83 Staying Lean: Thriving, Not Just Surviving, Second Edition
- 84 Cultural Issues in Implementing Lean Production
- 85 The Employee Perspective in Lean Environment
- 86 An Empirical Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Continuous Improvement Techniques
- 87 Human Dynamics of Effective Lean Team Cultures and Climates [DOI]
Cited by 7
Eivind Reke, Nadja Böhlmann · IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology · 2021
Freek J. A. Hermkens, A. Georges L. Romme, Sharon A. M. Dolmans · International Business Research · 2020
Showing 2 of 7 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.
Related research
- Drug-drug Interactions between Warfarin and Antimicrobials: A Systematic Review — shares topic coverage
- Risk Factors and Prognosis of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review — shares topic coverage
- Adherence of Hypertension Patients to a Healthy Diet and Physical Activity: A Systematic Review — shares topic coverage
- Therapeutic Potential of Phytochemicals in Autoimmune Diseases: A Systematic Review — shares topic coverage
- Effectiveness of Nurse-led Family Planning Counseling Program: A Systematic Review — shares topic coverage
Article metrics
Real usage data collected on this platform.
35
Page views
0
PDF downloads
10
Outbound clicks
7
Citations
Views over time
Views by country
Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".
Traffic sources
Referring site, by host.
Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.