Lean Six Sigma Impact Analysis on Sustainability Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM): A Literature Review

Kleber F. Barcia, Lizzi Garcia-Castro and Jorge Abad-Moran
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Kleber F. Barcia: Facultad de Ingeniería en Mecánica y Ciencias de la Producción, Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Campus Gustavo Galindo, Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 13 09-01-5863, Guayaquil 090902, Ecuador
Lizzi Garcia-Castro: Facultad de Ingeniería en Mecánica y Ciencias de la Producción, Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Campus Gustavo Galindo, Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 13 09-01-5863, Guayaquil 090902, Ecuador
Jorge Abad-Moran: Facultad de Ingeniería en Mecánica y Ciencias de la Producción, Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Campus Gustavo Galindo, Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 13 09-01-5863, Guayaquil 090902, Ecuador

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-26

Abstract: The Lean Six Sigma (LSS) philosophy and sustainability have become topics of interest since the 1990s; they have generally been analyzed together since 2012. Numerous professionals, managers, and researchers have sought methodologies by which to assess their impact and know their effectiveness within companies. During the past decade, the application of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) has been widely accepted in various modeling, prediction, or multivariate analyses as a way to measure the impact of LSS on sustainability. This study conducts a literature review to identify the use of PLS-SEM in measuring the impact of LSS on sustainability. A systematic review methodology has been employed, applying five search criteria to three scientific database platforms. This approach has been helpful to identify PLS-SEM as a valuable methodology for measuring the impact of LSS on sustainability. One of the research findings is that LSS practices positively impact 83% of economic indicators, 78% of environmental indicators, and 70% of social indicators. This article creates a theoretical foundation for future research on these issues, outlining research opportunities to generate future studies. It also allows researchers and managers who are interested in improving sustainability indicators to access valuable knowledge regarding what types of LSS tools could be used.

Keywords: lean; Six Sigma; Lean Six Sigma; impact; sustainability; economic; social; environmental; PLS-SEM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:3051-:d:764709

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