Fig. 1
Profile information of companies included in the study
| C | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Establishment year | 1990 | 2006 | 1997 |
| Company ownership | Family own | Joint venture | Joint venture |
| No. of full-time employees | 32 | 60 | 40 |
| Year sales turnover (RM) | Within a range of 5–10 million | Within a range of 5–10 million | Within a range of 10–15 million |
| Main products | Rubbery machinery | Surface treatment | Industrial wires |
| Certifications/achievements | Achieved SMEs SCORE 4 star (2019) | ISO 9001:2015; AS9001; NAD-CAP; SME Award 2015 | ISO 9001:2015; ISO 14001:2015 |
| No. of years of the LM imple-mentation | ≈3 years | ≈7 years | ≈15 years |
| Production type | High mix low volume | High mix low volume | Low mix high volume |
| Type of an M&E sub-sector | General industrial M&E parts | Specialised process in M&E agriculture | Specialised process in M&E aerospace |
Designation and management level of interviewed respondents
| C | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior management | Senior engineering manager | Senior factory manager | General manager |
| Middle management | Research & development manager | Planner | Business manager |
| Lower management | Finance executive | Quality engineer | Quality executive |
CSFs for the LM implementation in SMEs
| CSF | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lean knowledge and experiences of the managers | x | x | x | x | |||||||||||||
| Leadership and commitment of the top management | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| Resource capability (financial, time, workforce) | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |||
| Change in the organisational culture | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||
| Understanding of lean tools and knowledge | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||
| Employee involvement, empowerment, and motivation | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| External support from consultants | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||||||||||
| Training, education, and skills | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| Effective communication | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||||||||
| Customer focus | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |||||||||
| LM implementation strategy plan, goal and vision | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Performance management system | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||||||||||
| Technology resource | x | x | x | x | |||||||||||||
| Government intervention | x | x | x | ||||||||||||||
| Supplier management | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |||||||||
| Project management and planning | x | x | x | x | x | x |
SME perception of the determinant CSFs
| C | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lean knowledge and experiences of the managers | L | M | M |
| Leadership and commitment of the top management | H | H | H |
| Resource capability (financial, time, workforce) | H | H | H |
| Change in the organisational culture | H | H | H |
| Understanding of lean tools, employee knowledge | H | H | H |
| Employee involvement, empowerment | H | H | H |
| External support from consultants | L | L | L |
| Training, education and skills | H | H | H |
| Effective communication | M | M | H |
| Customer focus | H | H | H |
| LM implementation strategy plan, goal, vision | H | H | H |
| Performance management system | L | H | M |
| Technology resource | L | M | L |
| Government intervention | H | M | M |
| Supplier management | L | M | M |
| Project management and planning | M | M | H |