Examining the Impact of Lean Practices on Flexibility Performance: The Moderating Effect of Environmental Dynamism

Abstract

This paper examined the effects of four core and internal lean practices on flexibility performance in Jordanian manufacturing companies. Lean practices included setup time reduction, continuous improvement, synchronization of operations, and pull system. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 157 manufacturing companies from different industry types. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that lean production posively and significantly affected flexibility performance. All lean practices proved to be positively and significantly related to flexibility performance. The most contributing lean practice was synchronization of operations followed by pull system and continuous improvement. The moderating effect of environmental dynamism was also examined. The results of the interaction terms showed that environmental dynamism positively and significantly moderated the relationship between synchronization of operations and flexibility performance. The findings of this study highlighted the important role of synchronization of operations, a widely neglected lean practice in the literature, in improving flexibility performance. Additionally, we contributed to the controversial issue in the literature concerning the impact of lean production on performance in a dynamic environment.