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Despite extensive research on Lean Six Sigma (LSS), it predominantly remains focussed on organisational aspects. Individual perceptions were often sidelined. Comparative studies about different perspectives of LSS from the point of view of top management, consultants and employees are unavailable. This paper captures the opinions of these stakeholders about different dimensions of LSS and presents the comparison.

Using empirical research, opinion is captured of three LSS stakeholder categories: top management/business owners, facilitators/consultants and practising managers/employees. Their opinions about 15 different perspectives of LSS, including its future in the Industry 4.0/Quality 4.0 era, are evaluated in this study under 95 variables (decision aspects). Comparison among the opinions of these stakeholders is performed using chi-square hypothesis testing and ANOVA (analysis of variance) methods.

In a total of 95 comparisons, a statistically significant difference among different stakeholders' views is observed in 62 cases. In 33 cases, the opinions of the three stakeholder groups can be considered in agreement with one another.

The findings will help different LSS stakeholder groups better understand the expectations of other groups. During LSS implementation, it will help in aligning priorities and achieving success. Theoretically, it will help in narrowing the research gap about the rarity of comparing views of multiple stakeholder groups.

The comparison among views of three critical LSS stakeholder groups – top management/business owners, facilitators/consultants and managers/employees, is currently unavailable, and therefore, this research provides a fresh perspective to an otherwise extensively researched theme. It is immensely helpful in preventing LSS failures arising from misaligned stakeholder views and expectations.

Generic quality management system standard ISO 9001 and the automotive quality management system standard IATF 16949 both require organisations to demonstrate continual improvement in their customer satisfaction and the number of non-conformities identified during quality system audits. However, the long-term trends of these two parameters under ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 standards are not researched so far. It is expected that under continual improvement, organisations will achieve a step-function/stair-case shaped pattern. This study evaluates if this expectation is true when long-term performance of certified organisations is assessed.

A longitudinal exploration of three organisations certified to ISO 9001 standard and three certified to IATF 16949 standard is done. The observations are further substantiated using secondary data for the same ten years period about customer satisfaction of the major automobile manufacturers.

It is observed that none of the two indicators, i.e. the customer satisfaction and number of non-conformities, in any of the six organisations show step-wise/stair-case type improvement. All indicators followed random up and down patterns like ocean waves. It is paradoxical that certified organisations are claiming continual improvement and are remaining certified but there is actually no long-term improvement.

Longitudinal studies for the generic quality management standard ISO 9001 and the quality system standard for automotive sector IATF 16949 are rare. The revelation about ocean wave patterns observed in the long-term trends for customer satisfaction and the number of non-conformities in ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 certified organisations is a startling finding. It is outlandishly different from the conventional perception of a staircase-styled continual improvement pattern expected a priori in certified organisations.

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) implementation follows a structured approach called define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC). Earlier research about its application in emergency healthcare services shows that it requires organizational transformation, which many healthcare setups find difficult. The Kotter change management model facilitates organizational transformation but has not been attempted in LSS settings till now. This study aims to integrate the LSS framework with the Kotter change management model to come up with an integrated framework that will facilitate LSS deployment in emergency health services.

Two-stage Delphi method was conducted by using a literature review. First, the success factors and barriers of LSS are investigated, especially from an emergency healthcare point of view. The features and benefits of Kotter's change management models are then reviewed. Subsequently, they are integrated to form a framework specific to LSS deployment in an emergency healthcare set-up. The elements of this framework are analyzed using expert opinion ratings. A new framework for LSS deployment in emergency healthcare has been developed, which can prevent failures due to challenges faced by organizations in overcoming resistance to changes.

The eight steps of the Kotter model such as establishing a sense of urgency, forming a powerful guiding coalition, creating a vision, communicating the vision, empowering others to act on the vision, planning for and creating short-term wins, consolidating improvements and producing still more change, institutionalizing new approaches are derived from the eight common errors that managers make while implementing change in the institution. The study integrated LSS principles and Kotter’s change management model to apply in emergency care units in order to reduce waste and raise the level of service quality provided by healthcare companies.

The present study could contribute knowledge to the literature by providing a framework to integrate lean management and Kotter's change management model for the emergency care unit of the healthcare organization. This framework guides decision-makers and organizations as proper strategies are required for applying lean management practices in any system.

The proposed framework is unique and no other study has prescribed any integrated framework for LSS implementation in emergency healthcare that overcomes resistance to change.

This paper compares impact of Industry 4.0 / emerging information and communication Technologies (ICTs), for example, Internet of things (IOT), machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and cloud computing, on 22 organisational performance indicators under nine combinations of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and quality management systems (QMS).

Survey of 105 Indian organisations was done about their experience of using QMS, Lean Six Sigma and emerging ICTs. Respondents included both manufacturing and service enterprises of different scales and sectors. The responses collected were compared, and statistically significant difference among them was evaluated using chi-square test.

The study confirmed statistically significant difference among 20 organisational performance indicators under different combinations of QMS, LSS and ICTs. These indicators include quality performance, delivery performance, sales turnover, inventory level and so forth. However, for two indicators, namely, absenteeism and throughput, significant difference in responses was not established.

All possible combinations of QMS, LSS, only LSS tools and ICTs were not studied because of either theoretical impossibility (e.g. using LSS without LSS tools) or practically rare situations (e.g. organisations using ICTs and LSS without QMS). Furthermore, the impact from different sequences of implementing QMS, LSS and ICTs can be studied.

Using this study, practitioners can identify which LSS, Quality System and ICT combination results in best performance and quick success. On theoretical front, the study confirms impact of LSS and QMS on organisational performance.

This study evaluates organisational performance under several possible combinations of QMS, LSS, and emerging ICTs, which was so far unexplored.

New product development (NPD) is necessary for business sustenance and customer satisfaction. Six Sigma and Design for Lean Six Sigma (DLSS) efficiently employ the repetitive stages for NPD, leading to quality performance and profitability. This study aims to map the quality performance through NPD attributes through the Lean methodology.

The data on NPD were collected from 267 respondents from manufacturing companies to map the relationship between Six Sigma and DLSS for NPD. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to confirm model fit, while structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the empirical data for framework testing. The study included nine variables and fourteen hypotheses identified from the literature.

The statistical results of this study show that NPD attributes such as innovation, marketing, organization, customer, product and technology positively influence the Lean Six Sigma structured improvement process (LSSSIP) and DLSS. Moreover, integrating these attributes in Lean planning enhance quality performance. This empirical investigation's findings indicate that ten of the 14 hypotheses were supported, giving the study a strong foundation.

The data collection was limited to northern India; therefore, the results may not be generalizable to other areas of the world.

NPD involves handling technical issues and factors such as cost, operational bottlenecks, economic changes, competitors' strategy and company policy. This study helps understand the various NPD parameters and their relationship to Lean, which enables an effective NPD implementation strategy.

The current philosophy of NPD calls for a concurrent engineering approach; therefore, the entire organization must be part of this process. This study uses the holistic framework by optimizing NPD with Lean Six Sigma (LSS) principles. The study is unique in that, to date, research does not integrate NPD attributes with the objectives of LSS to develop an efficient NPD implementation strategy.

The perception of consumers towards the products or services that are provided by organisations that are certified to various international quality management and allied standards, such as the standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization, has not been extensively researched. Available research is limited to few standards. It is not comprehensively explored if consumers view certified products, services or organisations favourably in each case. This study aims to explore inclination of three consumer categories i.e. retail consumers, business consumers and subject expert consumers towards 11 international management system standards.

A survey is carried out among 229 consumers of different types in different countries. Total 11 quality management and allied standards are studied. Similarities and differences among different consumer groups towards these 11 standards are analysed using Chi-square test.

The study shows that although all consumer categories perceive products, services, and organisations certified to international management system standards favourably, the inclination towards certification is greater among developing economies than in developed economies. It is also proven that all standards are not equally popular among consumers. The brand name of a certification agency is found not influencing consumer’s preference towards certification.

The study is unique in three ways. First, it comprehensively analyses multiple quality management and allied standards from consumers’ point of view. Similarities and differences among retail consumers, business consumers and subject experts are researched, which was not attempted previously and thus it shows a novel approach. Second, no other study has analysed so many standards together. Third, differences in perception of consumers towards international standards between developing and developed nations are compared, which was not available earlier for all the 11 standards.

Critical success factors (CSF) for lean six sigma (LSS) using quality 4.0 are not researched so far. This study aims to bridge this gap. It also validates CSF already identified for LSS under conventional technologies.

Empirical research using the questionnaire method is conducted. Construct of the questionnaire is checked using Cronbach’s alpha and responses received are analysed using t-test and exploratory factor analysis.

In total, 20 factors are evaluated for LSS success. It includes 7 factors related to quality 4.0 technologies and 13 related to the conventional set-up. All 7 quality 4.0 related factors were found critical; whereas, under traditional set-up, 11 factors out of 13 were found critical.

The study will help enterprises in the fast and effective adoption of quality 4.0 and seamless integration with LSS. The post-Covid-19 business scenario is expected to be information technology focussed. The findings of this study will be useful in these circumstances. Consultants and practitioners can prioritise their efforts based on newly identified CSF. The new revelation about CSF for LSS in quality 4.0 enriches theory as well.

Developing skills based on newly identified CSF will help people in remaining employable in the era of automation, robotics and artificial intelligence which is otherwise ill-famed for destroying jobs.

CSF for LSS using quality 4.0 is a new contribution. It differentiates CSF established earlier for conventional technologies. Moreover, many CSF are common for LSS and industry 4.0, therefore this study will also help in smoother adoption of industry 4.0/quality 4.0 in organisations.

Interrelationships among some common factors of human resource (HR) management and quality management are still unexplored. Changes in work patterns due to the Covid-19 pandemic have aroused interest in some of these factors, such as working-hours, work pressure, work–life balance practices, job satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to explore the interrelationships among such factors. Specifically, the influence of work hours, work pressure, job rotation and work–life balance on job satisfaction is evaluated both directly and under the mediating influence of working conditions.

A questionnaire-based survey was conducted in Indonesia among diversified organisations. A total of 432 responses were gathered, and they were examined using hypothesis testing and partial least square based structural equation modelling.

The study confirms the statistically proven impact of work pressure, job rotations and work–life-balance practices on working conditions. Job rotations, work–life balance practices and working conditions directly influenced job satisfaction. Work pressure did not influence job satisfaction directly, but it significantly influenced working conditions, which eventually affected job satisfaction. Working hours neither affected working conditions nor job satisfaction in a significant manner.

Covid-19 necessitated working from home, which is a peculiar work–life balance situation. The findings are helpful for organisations in planning strategies related to work–life-balance, working hours, multi-skilling, working conditions and other quality of work life factors in both regular working conditions and under Covid-19 conditions.

The proven influence of work pressure and work–life-balance practices may result in the formation of informal organisations, social groups and increased social networking. As working hours are not diagnosed as an influencing factor for job satisfaction, organisations may think about increasing them, affecting the social fabric of the working community.

Previously unexplored interrelationships among various quality of work life factors are established. Under Covid-19 circumstances, factors such as working hours, work–life-balance and work pressure are investigated in a novel manner. The factors and their interrelationships are important to both quality management professionals and HR professionals.

Tactile communication that relies on the human sense of touch replicated using vibration motors is increasingly being explored for seamless communication on construction jobsite. However, the technological efficacy cannot secure the users’ acceptability of the tactile communication devices. This study aims to assess the factors affecting the wearability of such a portable tactile device based on the responses from practicing professionals.

The investigation adapted a three-step phenomenological interviewing approach to seek feedback from construction personnel in Texas, the USA, regarding the viability of wearable tactile communication. The interviewees expressed various opinions about the on-body placement upon exposure to a portable tactile feedback prototype developed for this study, which was used to derive inferences regarding the factors affecting its on-field acceptability.

All the participants of the round-table study (11 out of 11) considered tactile feedback as a viable mode of communication on construction jobsite. Seven professionals supported the integration of a tactile device with the hard hat, whereas the rest preferred tactile eyeglasses. Weatherability, rechargeability, traceability, safety and social receptivity were identified as the major factors affecting the on-body placement of the wearable tactile communication device.

This paper presents a roadmap to gain construction industry opinion on the factors that can affect the on-body placement of a wearable tactile communication device. The five aforementioned factors impacting tactile communication acceptability were used to evaluate 10 potential on-body placements. The findings have implications for research and development of wearable tactile devices and the subsequent acceptability of such a device on the jobsite.

This paper aims to investigate the use of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technology and its barriers in human resourcemanagement (HRM) for Smart HR 4.0 and its impact on HR performance.

The research has been conducted using the grounded theory approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 122 senior HR officers of national and multi-national companies in India after the extensive literature review. NVivo 8.0 software was used for the analysis of the interview data.

I4.0 technology is used for HRM functions by HR professionals. It is revealed that Smart HR 4.0 that emerged from the I4.0 technology has leveraged the HR performance. It is also found that usage barriers, traditional barriers and risk barriers affect the use of I4.0 technology in HRM.

A model is developed using the grounded theory approach for HR managers to understand the impact of I4.0 on HRM. This study reveals the barriers affecting the use of I4.0 technology in HRM. It also provides the model for HR performance that emerged through the use of I4.0 technology in HR and Smart HR 4.0. The research delivered key insights for the HR professionals, marketers of HR technology and technology developers.