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Institutional and cultural barriers to transferring Lean production to China: Evidence from a German automotive components manufacturer

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Abstract

Our qualitative study of a globally operating German automotive components manufacturer demonstrates how certain cognitive dispositions and behaviours of Chinese employees acted as barriers to the transfer of the firm’s Lean production system to its subsidiaries in China. We analyse how these barriers were rooted in the Chinese institutional and cultural context, thereby contributing a new micro-level perspective to business systems literature. Our findings further suggest that manufacturing in China will not be truly ‘Lean’ in the near future, which may place constraints on China’s technological development at a larger scale.

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Notes

  1. We use the term ‘employee’ to include all levels of the hierarchy.

  2. It should be noted that this perception is not in line with all current Chinese engineering curricula.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University, Ashby Road, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, Loughborough, UK

    Angelika Zimmermann

  2. Service für Gasaufbereitung GmbH, Gymnasialstraße 14, St. Wendel, 66606, Germany

    Marc Fabian Bollbach

Authors
  1. Angelika Zimmermann
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  2. Marc Fabian Bollbach
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Correspondence to Angelika Zimmermann.

Appendix A

Appendix A

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Zimmermann, A., Bollbach, M. Institutional and cultural barriers to transferring Lean production to China: Evidence from a German automotive components manufacturer. Asian Bus Manage 14, 53–85 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1057/abm.2014.18

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