《Shah and Ward Developing and Defining Lean JOM 2016》.pdf

Journal of Operations Management 25 (2007) 785–805 /locate/jom Defining and developing measures of lean production Rachna Shah a,*, Peter T. Ward b,1 a University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management, 321 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States b The Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business, 600 Fisher Hall, Columbus, OH 43221, United States Available online 20 January 2007 Abstract Our research addresses the confusion and inconsistency associated with ‘‘lean production.’’ We attempt to clarify the semantic confusion surrounding lean production by conducting an extensive literature review using a historical evolutionary perspective in tracing its main components. We identify a key set of measurement items by charting the linkages between measurement instruments that have been used to measure its various components from the past literature, and using a rigorous, two-stage empirical method and data from a large set of manufacturing firms, we narrow the list of items selected to represent lean production to 48 items, empirically identifying 10 underlying components. In doing so, we map the operational space corresponding to conceptual space surrounding lean production. Configuration theory provides the theoretical underpinnings and helps to explain the synergistic relationships among its underlying components. # 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V. Keywords: Lean production; Scale development; Confirmatory factor analysis 1. Introduction imprecise concepts lead to a body of research that