Impact Of Lean Production Practices On Business Performance: Evidence From Malaysian Food Industry

Abstract

Evidence suggests that lean methods and tools have helped manufacturing organizations to improve their performance. However, the real effect of these methods and tools on contemporary measures of business performance, is still unclear. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the relationship between lean production and business performance of Malaysian companies in the food industry. To have empirical evidence about these relationships, data have been collected from (187) executive managers for (1309) Malaysian companies in the food industry. using a self-administered questionnaire. The collected data have been analyzed using both descriptive statistics and multiple regressions. Correlation analysis and multiple regressions using SPSS have been performed to measure the relationship between variables and to test the hypotheses related to the study. The results of this study have reported a positive correlation between lean production and business performance, but not with SMED practices, which indicates a weak effect on business performance. The study will help practitioners to anticipate potential obstacles and take proper measures to deal with them during lean implementation.