Critical success factors for human resource outcomes in Kaizen events: An empirical study

Kaizen events are an increasingly common organizational improvement mechanism aimed at work area transformation and employee development. While many anecdotal design prescriptions exist, there is little empirical evidence of which input and process factors are most strongly related to Kaizen event outcomes in practice. This paper uses results from a field study of 51 events in six manufacturing organizations to identify the set of input and process factors that most strongly relate to the development of employee attitudinal outcomes and problem-solving capabilities in Kaizen events. These results are used to develop guidelines for organizations and identify directions for future work.