The impact of lean design practices on an organization´s radical innovation capability: An empirical study

Since lean management concepts focus on low risk, short-term gradual improvement of existing processes and products with an emphasis on eliminating any and all wastes in the system, applying lean to an organization often implies difficulties in promoting innovations that involve high risks and dramatic changes. In this article, we investigate the impact of lean design practices on an organization´s radical innovation capability through a survey study. Results suggest that the stressed importance of standardization in lean design has a negative effect on an organization´s radical innovation capability. A negative correlation between the emphasis of “design being compatible with existing manufacturing process” and the organization´s radical innovation capability is also suggested. Part integration, on the other hand, positively contributes to an organization´s radical innovation capability.