International Journal of Operations & Production Management: Volume 19 Issue 11

Developing strategic continuous improvement capability

John Bessant, David Francis

In developing CI capability, organisations need to move to a level of development in which strategic goals are communicated and deployed and where improvement activity is guided…

CI and performance: a CUTE approach

José F.B. Gieskes, Harry Boer, Frank C.M. Baudet, KostasSeferis

Describes a methodology, called CUTE, after the ESPRIT‐project CUTE (Continuous Improvement using Information Technology towards Excellence) which was aimed at the development of…

Development of a continuous improvement self‐assessment tool

Sarah Caffyn

During the 1990s a growing number of firms have been encouraging continuous improvement (CI) in all aspects of working life, and some impressive results have been achieved…

Continuous improvement capability: assessment within one case study organisation

Máire Kerrin

Continuous improvement (CI) programmes have been recognised as one way of contributing to the productivity and efficiency within the manufacturing setting. However, the…

Measuring change project management in manufacturing

Tapani Taskinen, Riitta Smeds

In this paper, a preliminary framework for the assessment of change management is developed, based on recent research and case interviews at three consulting companies. The…

Continuous improvement and the mini‐company concept

Jan de Leede, Jan Kees Looise

The key issue of continuous improvement (CI) seems to be the problem of combining extensive employee involvement with market orientation and continuation of CI. In this article we…

Cycles of continuous improvement: Realizing competitive advantages through quality

Taina I. Savolainen

This paper aims at increasing the understanding of the processes and dynamics of CI implementation. The paper presents findings from a longitudinal case study of how the…