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If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -Lean systems thinking was widely studied using relevant variables, but there is a dearth of published theoretical or empirical evidence about the cultural aspects of lean processes. The lack of conceptual development is one of the motivations for this study. Do organizational cultural variations correlate with the success and effectiveness of lean processes? What organizational infrastructures are required for effective lean implementation and continuation? The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach -Examining literature in the area of lean production and lean management, the authors sought current literature at the intersection of organizational culture and lean processes, particularly implementation and sustainability, but found little relating to the topic. Therefore, using the Competing Values Framework taxonomy, the authors examine this intersection, relying on related research in the areas. Findings -In this paper, a brief discussion of lean processes in relation to organizational culture leads to propositions that identify the various cultural dimensions and their purported effect on lean implementation and sustainability. A model of this interaction is developed. Those quadrants of the Competing Values Framework that might be useful in developing research directions for the future are identified. Research limitations/implications -Future research directions include the measurement of organizational culture in firms that have implemented lean processes. This would be a step toward looking at the effect that the different quadrants in the Competing Values Framework have on various elements of lean efforts. This would take a significant amount of work, because the manufacturing industry, the leader in implementing and sustaining lean processes, may have institutionalized particular organizational cultures. It would be an interesting step forward in the understanding of how lean processes are operationalized across different firms and industries. However, there are multiple ways to examine culture; the authors believe this method allows the capture of the entire spectrum. Practical implications -Knowing which dimensions influence lean effec...

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test the reliability and validity of the qualitative section of Lean Assessment Tool (LAT) starting from the point where a reliable and valid tool is needed to measure increasing leanness level of business organizations. Design/methodology/approach The questionnaire used in this study included the qualitative component of LAT developed by Pakdil and Leonard (2014). The unit of the study was individual employees who work in manufacturing firms participating in this study. This study focused on the data collected from three firms that operate in Turkey and two firms that operate in the USA. The total respondents from Turkish firms were 263 employees, while the 205 employees responded from US firms. Findings Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were completed to determine valid and reliable factors that compose LAT’s qualitative component. The statistical analysis showed five distinct factors, namely process, delivery, quality, customer satisfaction and human resource. In addition, the fuzzy logic showed appropriate loadings to make the argument for its use in analysis of the LAT. Research limitations/implications This study moves the debate about the success or failure of lean efforts forward. With the debates about lean and its potential, it is necessary to have a scientific determination of success and the areas where further work in the firm is needed. Such measurement is the backbone of management progress, and the authors believe that this paper is useful. Second, the necessity of reliable and valid tools of lean assessment is obvious in the literature and practice. The findings of this study help academicians find reliable and valid tools to measure lean success both in the literature and practice. Practical implications Managerial implications include the development of a way to assess the areas of success and areas requiring further work. Failure to measure success and needs for further work has been the reason for the questionable results found in investigating lean implementation efforts. If there is no way to determine what is needed to improve lean efforts, they will be seen as failure, even if part of the implementation has been successful. This tool has been found to be potentially useful for evaluation of these crucial and time-consuming efforts. Originality/value In this study, the qualitative section of LAT has been validated. The results demonstrated that, based on two countries’ data sets, the scale was found to be reliable and valid within itself and across sociocultural boundaries.

Advances in communication technologies have made great progress in bridging time and distance, but social and cultural differences are still formidable obstacles to effective communication. Communication processes occur in specific cultural contexts, with unique normative beliefs, assumptions, and shared symbols. Culture influences what people communicate, to whom they communicate, and how they communicate. There has been little systematic cross-cultural research to explicate the effects of communication media on communication effectiveness. This article proposes cultural effects on perceptions of media effectiveness. The authors advance conceptual knowledge by presenting new perspectives on the cultural effects on individuals' perception of media and their effectiveness.