Research Opportunities in Lean Production

Implementing lean production systems: research areas and opportunities for future studies
Giuliano Almeida Marodin* and Tarcisio Abreu Saurin
Department of Industrial Engineering and Transportation (DEPROT), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS),
Porto Alegre, Brazil

International Journal of Production Research
Volume 51, Issue 22, 2013


This article had the objective of identifying the main areas of research on LP implementation and to propose research opportunities. The literature review was based on 102 studies published in the years between 1996 and 2012.

Six research areas were identified by the authors:
(a) structure and scope of the LP implementation;
(b) factors that influence in
the LP implementation;
(c) methods for implementing LP systems;
(d) LP assessment methods;
(e) the results of implementing
LP systems; and
(f ) adaptation of LP to particular sectors.



The opportunities for future research .

None of the studies on methods of implementing LP mentions the factors that influence the process. Similarly, the methods for assessing the LP implementation level do not take into account the particularities of specific sectors. In fact, it seems that LP area  would benefit from integration. Studies across the research areas could also support a better understanding on why companies are successful or not in using lean. For instance, it could be investigated the extent to which the factors that affect the use of LP are present in the companies that exhibit the best results in terms of performance metrics. Of course, the impact of specific variables within each research area could also be studied – e.g. it could be investigated if the methods for LP implementation differ, or if they should differ, according to variables such as company size, product type and process type.


In the paper drawbacks of LP have also been identified, such as:
(a) the difficulty of using LP as a business system in sectors other than manufacturing, as the use of lean in other sectors is often limited to some practices and principles;
(b) the lack of in-depth knowledge on why companies fail or succeed in their lean efforts; this drawback is aggravated by the lack of studies reporting failed implementations of LP;
(c) the lack of understanding on the complex dynamics involving the use of LP in all areas of a company; and (d) the lack of effective theories and practices to manage the systemic, human and organisational dimensions of lean. This lack is in contrast with the relatively more developed body of knowledge on the use of lean practices.