Effects of continuous improvement on shop-floor employees’ job performance in Lean production: The role of Lean duration

The purpose of this paper is to present empirical findings of the effect of continuous improvement (CI) on shop-floor employees’ job performance in the Lean production system-implemented textile and apparel firms.

A random sample of 657 shop-floor employees engaged full-time in Lean production systems-implemented textile and apparel firms in Sri Lanka responded to the survey. Statistical methods were used for data analysis.

It was revealed that CI significantly and positively influences shop-floor employees’ job performance, and the duration of Lean production in operations (termed as Lean duration) moderates this relationship.

Investigations on the ways in which CI initiatives influence employees is important in creating an environment to sustain the improvement efforts over a longer period. Such lessons would be valuable for academics and practitioners alike worldwide.