Definitions of Key Terms

Term is... 

• A word or phrase used to describe a thing or to express a concept.

• Important words/concepts found in your research question or thesis.

Definition of key terms is important to... 

• To clarify the language used in the study. 

• To clarify how the variables are defined in the study precisely – not other definitions. The definitions used in the study could be different from other definitions. 

To clarify the language used in the present study, the key terms were defined as follows:

Lean manufacturing

Lean manufacturing is an approach synergistically addressing to improve operations performance and business performance through waste elimination.

Lean manufacturing practices

Lean manufacturing practices are a set of integrated strategic resources used to achieve a set of goals of lean manufacturing implementation.

Operations performance 

Operations performance comprises actual outputs of operations strategies employed, which is influenced by operating conditions (such as quality, manufacturing flexibility, lead time, inventory, productivity, and costs) and represents some internal properties of manufacturing system (Bartezzaghi & Turco, 1989; Chang & Lee, 1995). 

Business performance 

Business performance comprises actual outputs of an organization looking at an organization as a whole instead of at the operational level. Business performance may be viewed as a higher level in the hierarchy of objectives, with operations performance plays a role of mediating variable and represents the lower level (Bartezzaghi & Turco, 1989; Chang & Lee, 1995). 

To provide clarity of the language used in this present study, the key terms are defined as follows: 

1. Lean Culture is described as common behavior and attitude that exists in the organization and it plays an important role in shaping lean implementation (Watkins, 2013). 

2. Lean Knowledge Management is a process that strategizes to create, disseminate, and supervise the knowledge related to lean manufacturing know-how and skill-set within the organization (Ale, Toledo, Chiotti, & Galli, 2014) 

3. Lean Leadership is a belief, behaviors, and competencies that display respect for individuals, inspire individuals, reduce organizational politics, ensure effective use of resources, and eliminate mistakes (Antony, Balzer, Brodke, & Kizhakethalackal, 2015). 

4. Lean Manufacturing is a systematic approach aiming at improving the efficiency of the production system by increasing the value-added activities by reducing waste in the manufacturing operations (Loh & Lau, 2019; Tortorella, Vergara, & Ferreira, 2017). 

5. Lean Manufacturing Maturity is the extent to which the manufacturers have transformed to adapt lean manufacturing holistically as a total system over a while (Galeazzo, 2019). 

6. Lean Resource Management is the asset relating to implementing lean manufacturing to function effectively (Sanfilippo, Terkaj, & Borgo, 2019). 

7. Lean Supplier Management is the practice of selecting the supplier, collaborative supplier partnership, and supplier development program towards the lean manufacturing implementation (Hoque, Hasle, & Maalouf, 2020). 

8. Manufacturing Excellence is an integrated production excellence fundamental (e.g., low production cost, excellent quality, high flexibility, and lead time reduction) to measure its performance and create a benchmarking to satisfy customer demands in a competitive market (Sukarma, 2000). 

9. Sustaining Factor is defined as the contributing factors towards the continuation or integration of a new practice within an organization. It has become a routine process and the ways of thinking and continues to deliver desired outcomes (Flynn & Scott, 2020).