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Revisiting the existing notion of continuous improvement (Kaizen): literature review and field research of Toyota from a perspective of innovation

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  • Shumpei Iwao

    (University of Tokyo)

Abstract

Continuous improvement (Kaizen) has been identified as a crucial factor for strengthening firms’ competitiveness in the automotive industry as well as others, and many scholars view it as detailed below. In the existing literature, from a perspective of innovation, Kaizen has often been conceived of as an accumulation of similarly small, mutually independent, incremental process innovations that are conducted by workers, work-teams, and their leaders. However, few empirical case studies examine the relevance of this conventional notion of Kaizen. Do Kaizen activities contribute only to similarly small, incremental process innovations? Does Kaizen only consist of various mutually independent innovations? Is Kaizen always achieved by workers and work-teams rather than by engineers? This paper attempts to observe those continuous improvements conducted in a certain factory for a certain period. Through longitudinal observations, this paper shows via seven case studies that (1) Kaizen consists of a series of innovations with various scales and that these scales could also be estimated by the “scope of coordination” in addition to existing scale indicators, such as the investment amount, and outcomes, such as the cost reduction effect. Additionally, (2) Kaizen sometimes induces small changes in product design and affects organizational activities of production design as a small-scale product innovation. Furthermore, (3) Kaizen activities sometimes influence other Kaizen activities. With regard to these characteristics of Kaizen, this paper implies that (4) Kaizen management needs organizational design. For example, in Toyota’s case, not only work-teams but also product/process design engineers contribute to Kaizen, and shop-floor engineers play a vital role in coordinating between shop-floors and engineering departments on the basis of the “staff-in-line structure” of organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Shumpei Iwao, 2017. "Revisiting the existing notion of continuous improvement (Kaizen): literature review and field research of Toyota from a perspective of innovation," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 29-59, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eaiere:v:14:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s40844-017-0067-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s40844-017-0067-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Honorine Harlé & Sophie Hooge & Pascal Le Masson & Kevin Levillain & Thierry Ménard & Benoit Weil & Guillaume Bulin, 2022. "Innovative design on the shop floor of the Saint-Nazaire Airbus factory," Post-Print hal-03807823, HAL.
    3. Nelson, John P., 2023. "Differential “progressibility” in human know-how: A conceptual overview," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    4. Drahoš Vaněček & Martin Pech & Michael Rost, 2018. "Innovation and Lean Production," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 66(2), pages 595-603.
    5. Thanh-Lam Nguyen, 2019. "STEAM-ME: A Novel Model for Successful Kaizen Implementation and Sustainable Performance of SMEs in Vietnam," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2019, pages 1-23, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Process innovation; Large/small innovation; Routine dynamics; Lean manufacturing; Dynamic capabilities;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M0 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - General
    • M1 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration
    • M2 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics

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