A comparative review of the complementary and conflicting nature of lean production and green manufacturing implementation
Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management
ISSN: 1741-038X
Article publication date: 6 February 2024
Issue publication date: 27 September 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Buoyed by the increasing demand for improved productivity and environmentally conscious manufacturing, research in the area of lean production and green manufacturing has experienced significant growth since Dües et al. (2013). Taking the latter as the point of reference, a review of recent developments in the complementary and conflicting areas between lean production and green manufacturing that has been missing is presented.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic search was done to identify articles on lean production and green manufacturing from Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. The population-intervention-outcome format was used to develop and answer the research questions. ATLAS.ti 22 was used to analyse 141 qualifying papers and identify the research themes.
Findings
Lean production and green manufacturing have strong synergy, and when integrated, they tend to deliver superior organisational performance than their individual implementations. This is consistent with the pre-2013 results, and other areas of synergy and divergence were also identified.
Research limitations/implications
The study considers only papers published in the manufacturing sector after Dües et al. (2013). A review of lean production and green manufacturing in integrated product-service systems may also be relevant, especially due to the continuing trend since its introduction.
Practical implications
Any new adopter of lean production should consider implementing it simultaneously with green manufacturing.
Originality/value
This study establishes the persistence of the pre-2013 patterns of synergy and divergence between lean production and green manufacturing, and identifies new considerations for their joint implementation.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: The research was funded by the University of Pretoria doctoral bursary request number 2553.
Citation
Machingura, T., Adetunji, O. and Maware, C. (2024), "A comparative review of the complementary and conflicting nature of lean production and green manufacturing implementation", Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 35 No. 4, pp. 682-704. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-02-2022-0090
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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