Influence of team members’ characteristics on the sustainability of continuous improvement initiatives

Tortorella, Guilherme Luz; Fogliatto, Flavio Sanson; Vergara, Alejandro Mac Cawley; Goncalves Quelhas, Osvaldo Luis; Sawhney, Rapinder

Abstract

© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.This article aims at examining the influence of teams’ characteristics on the sustainability of Continuous Improvement (CI) initiatives. To achieve that, two identical manufacturing cells undergoing CI implementation and subordinated to the same leadership were investigated through a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. While one team has shown a sustained and increased performance, the other could not maintain improvements and worsened its performance. As the only factor distinguishing cells is team composition, we verify which team characteristics impact on CI sustainability. Results indicate that workers’ seniority in company and in team, as well as their age positively influence team behaviour regarding the sustainability of CI initiatives. Long-term sustainability of CI initiatives has been a major concern in most companies. Although previous studies have approached the subject from different and complementary perspectives, the understanding of how specific characteristics of team members may influence the sustainability of CI is still vague and imprecise.

Más información

Título según WOS: Influence of team members’ characteristics on the sustainability of continuous improvement initiatives
Título según SCOPUS: Influence of team members’ characteristics on the sustainability of continuous improvement initiatives
Título de la Revista: TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT & BUSINESS EXCELLENCE
Número: 7-8
Editorial: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
Fecha de publicación: 2019
Idioma: English
DOI:

10.1080/14783363.2019.1641077

Notas: ISI, SCOPUS