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Front-line lean leadership is critical for implementing and sustaining lean production systems (LPS). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationships between front-line lean leader (FLL) capacities (cognitive, social, motivational, knowledge and experience), lean leader practices (developing people and supporting daily kaizen) and the degree of implementation of lean tools (pull system, involvement of employees and process control) in manufacturing companies.

A survey was conducted with FLLs from large Brazilian manufacturing companies. The survey collected 103 responses, 99 of which were validated. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

There was a positive, significant and direct relationship between FLL capacities, leadership practices and a degree of implementation of LPS tools on the shop floor. The validated model is a reference base for planning FLL capacities and practices that result in more effectively implementing LPS on the shop floor.

The findings provide managers with a new perspective on the importance of the development and training of FLLs focusing on leadership capacities. As decisions about developing lean capabilities impact the application of Lean leadership practices and the use of lean tools, they are also related to day-to-day lean activities and improved operational results. Additionally, the proposed model can be used by managers as a basis to diagnose, develop and select lean leaders.

This study seeks to fill a theoretical gap of knowledge on front-line lean leadership as it jointly addresses and empirically analyzes the existing relationships between lean leadership capacities, encompassing the perspective of psychology, lean practices and tools on the shop floor.

The aim of this paper is to present a model for the analysis to the knowledge management on the organizational processes. Knowledge can be considered an input, an element of transformation, and an output of these processes. In order to maximize the competitive advantage of these processes, it is necessary to manage knowledge in a more structured way. The proposed model is composed of the following elements: contents, processes, infrastructure and knowledge management principles. In this paper the model was applied – through two case studies – in the product development process (PDP) of automotive parts manufacturers. The results showed the lack of awareness about the presence of these knowledge management elements in the everyday activities of PDP and the importance of the integration of these elements to the success of this management.

This study aims to propose and test a research framework for analyzing the relationship between new product development (NPD) best practices and performance in companies that belong to innovative industries in Brazil.

A quantitative survey was conducted, involving several industries, including agricultural machinery, automotive and pharmaceutical. Data was analyzed through multiple linear regression.

Among the best practices investigated, the main results show that “innovative culture” and “project climate” are factors that significantly affect the performance of the NPD.

The choice of best practices can be considered a major limitation of this study, as this is a dynamic concept depending on a continuous analysis that must take into account the economic and technological environment.

This study highlights a relationship between an innovative culture and performance. Some practices may be adopted to address an innovative culture, such as stimulating employee creativity, acceptance and partnership with external actors for the joint development of technologies and employee involvement with NPD.

The findings expand the debate on best practices in NPD and innovation management by presenting results on the topic in an emerging country, in this case, Brazil.

This paper investigates whether adopting continuous improvement (CI) behaviors is related to better radical and incremental product and process innovation performance and identifies whether CI behaviors positively affect respondent perceptions on CI contributions to innovation performance.

Data were collected from 139 firms in Brazil, and cluster analysis was used to identify groups with different CI adoption levels. The nonparametric Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney test was used to verify differences in innovation performance at companies via manager perceptions on CI and innovation.

Data show that more CI behavior implementation was associated with better product and process innovation performance. Furthermore, companies with more mature CI behavior levels innovate more, which may reinforce CI investments.

Organizational managers focused on innovation should dedicate time to evaluating and developing CI behaviors, and maturing CI philosophies to improve performance. This study can contribute to the literature by offering insights for developing public policies, especially for emerging economies, or for companies seeking to become more competitive, since CI can foster and promote a culture of long-term innovation.

Despite the fact that a relationship between CI and operational performance has already been established, there is still a lack of research that identifies the impacts of CI behavior on innovation. Focusing on CI behavior is important because it can be fostered by various programs and improvement initiatives, highlighting paths for managerial practices and academia. This study was conducted for an emerging economy.

The paper proposes a framework to help quality practitioners involved with the task of quality planning. The proposed framework utilises both external and internal information (such as a market diagnosis and the organization’s strategic plans) which are filtered through the methodologies and techniques of quality management to deliver a time phased plan consisting of the main actions required to implement total quality management in either a manufacturing or service company.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze aspects of a network structure that promotes the practice of the knowledge management (KM) process in a service organization. The idea that knowledge is the main organizational resource has established itself in recent years, and knowledge has become more valuable in service organizations. Managing knowledge is therefore a central activity for organizations, and organizational structure must assist in this process.

The research strategy used is the simple case study, applied in a large multinational company in its unit established in Brazil.

The paper points out that the network structure has more flexible characteristics regarding formalization, centralization and integration. In the case study, this structure encourages the flow of knowledge through the interaction between individuals, and also across sectors of the organization, with the aid of a department coordinating the KM process, responsible for the storage and distribution of the best practices for future use in sites of service.

The first point that should be highlighted is that the organization selected for the study is highly advanced in terms of KM, producing excessively positive results. Another negative aspect is related to the single case methodology. It does not allow extrapolation of the results to a larger population.

Within the context of industrial services highlights the service provider sites. The sites correspond to the service provider company frontline. In the sites occur the process of providing service, contact with the customer, improvement activities and, essentially, where knowledge is put in practice. To facilitate the storage and distribution of knowledge, the network structure presents a sector called Center of Excellence. The Center of Excellence aims to centralize the repository of knowledge, enabling the transfer of knowledge between different sites.

The main contribution is aimed at describing the characteristics of a network structure that stimulates the KM process in a service organization. This network of sites facilitates the flow of knowledge and the creative process.

The purpose of this paper is to test and develop a method for generation and selection of six sigma projects. This is done by testing the use of the generation and selection method for six sigma projects (GSM_SSP) in a Brazilian manufacturing industry with the participation of managers, aiming to gather the user’s perspective and improvement opportunities for the approach itself.

The work adopts the action research (AR) approach once the researchers were busily involved in the training, implementation and use of the GSM_SSP. The intervention was performed in on a series of 15 workshops, with a group of managers, during six months.

The application of the eight steps of the GSM_SSP approach assisted the company’s management team to generate nine project candidates and also to select three six sigma projects. This study also finds and discusses barriers and lessons learned used to improve the GSM_SSP.

This study presents an example of how six sigma project generation and selection has been applied to a manufacturing industry by adapting AR to the process using the eight steps of GSM_SSP, demonstrating how the management team was involved. This study should be replicated in different companies because AR is limited in its generalization.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study represents the first use of AR methodology in six sigma project selection. This study contributes a method that can generate and select six sigma projects. In doing so, the research offers a simple approach that can be used by managers. In addition, the steps of the approach before selection were explored.

Although lean methods are considered easy to be implemented during the initial phases of the lean transformation process, few companies are able to maintain them in long term. One of the key factors for this maintenance is the role played by the leaders in their teams. The purpose of this paper is to show the outcomes of an action research that analyzed and developed leadership practices, using the lean leadership model for developing people as reference and considering the factors: to promote employees’ self-development; to coach and develop employees; to support daily kaizen; to create vision and align goal.

The results of this study are based on the action research method applied in a large Brazilian industrial company. The study was structured considering the phases of problem diagnosis, action plan, implementation and evaluation of practical and theoretical results.

The leadership practices implemented from the model were shown to be adequate to the lean production system (LPS) and it was observed that reflecting on the processes and the organizational learning are two main concepts that these practices support in the organization.

Since this study is based on action research in a single company, the generalization of results is limited. Suggestions for future research include the development of a quantitative research in different industrial contexts.

The practical implications of this research are to present activities that must be developed by the leadership of organizations to maintain LPS.

This paper raises the problems of organizational leadership that limit the implementation and maintenance of LPS, presenting the planning and implementation of changes in leadership practices to solve these problems.

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.