The TQM Journal: Volume 30 Issue 4

Introduction to the special issue on Kaizen: an ancient operation innovation strategy for organizations of the XXI century

Manuel F. Suárez Barraza, Francisco G. Rodríguez González, Jose-A. Miguel Dávila

Kaizen, a continuous improvement practice in organizations: A comparative study in companies from Mexico and Ecuador

Karla María Alvarado-Ramírez, Víctor Hipólito Pumisacho-Álvaro, José Ángel Miguel-Davila, Manuel F. Suárez Barraza

The purpose of this paper is to compare the practices of continuous improvement that are applied in medium and large manufacturing and service companies in two Latin American…

A novel Kaizen technique for service quality: case study in educational organization

Jih Kuang Chen

The development and application of systematic procedures enabling Kaizen methodology development are still very rare, especially in the service industry. The purpose of this paper…

Environmental comfort based (ECB) methodology as a tool for preparing Kaizen application in a catering service company

Carmen Jaca, Marta Ormazabal, Elisabeth Viles, Javier Santos

The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology that is based on the concept of environmental comfort and can serve as a tool that can help companies and employees to…

Kaizen philosophy: The keys of the permanent suggestion systems analyzed from the workers’ perspective

Juan A. Marin-Garcia, Amable Juarez-Tarraga, Cristina Santandreu-Mascarell

The purpose of this paper is to perform a context analysis about a specific Kaizen program, suggestion systems in permanent teams, and identified the barriers and facilitators…

The best of both worlds? Use of Kaizen and other continuous improvement methodologies within Portuguese ISO 9001 certified organizations

Luis Miguel Fonseca, José Pedro Domingues

ISO 9001:2015 edition, by adopting modern management and quality approaches, can foster the application of continuous improvement (CI) methodologies. The purpose of this paper is…

Continuous improvement project within Kaizen: critical success factors in hospitals

Fernando Gonzalez-Aleu, Eileen M. Van Aken, Jennifer Cross, Wiljeana J. Glover

Evidence suggests that hospitals are having problems achieving continuous improvement project (CIP) goals or sustaining their results. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to…

Systematic bibliometric analysis on Kaizen in scientific journals

José Álvarez-García, Amador Durán-Sánchez, María de la Cruz del Río-Rama

Since Masaaki Imai coined the term Kaizen in the mid-1980s, it has been seen as a key element for the competitiveness of Japanese companies, and it is currently a widely discussed…

Kaizen and continuous improvement – trends and patterns over 30 years

Daniel Carnerud, Carmen Jaca, Ingela Bäckström

The purpose of this paper is to depict how Kaizen and continuous improvement (CI) are represented in scientific journals focusing on quality management (QM) from the 1980s until…

Three-dimensional sustainability of Kaizen

Jesus Mendez, Mercedes Vila-Alonso

The purpose of this paper is to know, from a three-dimensional perspective (operational, emotional and behavioral), the process of “putting down roots” related with the…

The Kaizen Wheel – an integrated philosophical foundation for total continuous improvement

Chen Hua Chung

The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated philosophical foundation for Kaizen.

Lean production, Toyota Production System and Kaizen philosophy: A conceptual analysis from the perspective of Zen Buddhism

Andrea Chiarini, Claudio Baccarani, Vittorio Mascherpa

The purpose of this paper is to compare principles from the original Toyota Production System (TPS), the Toyota Way 2001 and Kaizen philosophy with principles derived from…