Organizational Commitment and Lean Sustainability: Literature Review and Directions for Future Research

Amal Benkarim and Daniel Imbeau
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Amal Benkarim: Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada
Daniel Imbeau: Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-24

Abstract: The vast majority of works published on Lean focus on the evaluation of tools and/or the strategies needed for its implementation. Although many authors highlight the degree of employee commitment as one of the key aspects of Lean, what has gone largely unnoticed in the literature, is that few studies have examined in-depth the concept of organizational commitment in connection with Lean. With this narrative literature review article, our main objective is (1) to identify and analyze an extensive body of literature that addresses the Lean Manufacturing approach and how it relates to employee commitment, emphasizing affective commitment as the main type of organizational commitment positively associated with Lean, and (2) to highlight the management practices required to encourage this kind of commitment and promote the success and sustainability of Lean. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview that can help researchers and practitioners interested in Lean better understand the importance of employee commitment in this type of approach, and as well, to identify related research questions.

Keywords: lean manufacturing; sustainability; continuous improvement; organizational commitment; human resource management practices (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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