Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to investigate if a firm's organizational culture affects the set of quality techniques it uses, and if these quality techniques affect the relationship between organizational culture and operational performance. Design/methodology/approach-Based on data collected from 250 firms in Brazil and Denmark, structural equation modeling is used to investigate the relationship between organizational culture and the use of quality techniques, and its impact on operational performance. Four quality technique groups, four cultural profiles adopted from the Competing Values Framework and a set of operational performance indicators are used to operationalize the study. Findings-Culture does not appear to be an unequivocal predictor of the use of quality techniques. Furthermore, while most quality technique groups contribute indirectly to the total effect on operational performance in the developmental, group and hierarchical cultures, the performance effects are insignificant for all four groups in the rational culture. Practical implications-Managers need to be actively aware of the cultural characteristics of their organization before adopting quality techniques, in order to benefit most from the use of these techniques.

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Purpose Recent studies suggest that the implementation of Lean will only be successful when aligned with organizational culture (OC). The purpose of this paper is to understand an Ideal Lean Culture (ILC) in the Brazilian context. Design/methodology/approach This diagnosis is based on the Competing Values Framework, and it is the result of a survey with 51 experts in charge of implementation of Lean programs in organizations operating in different industry segments in Brazil. Findings The results show that an ILC for Brazilian organizations seems to have the dominant profile of the hierarchy culture, thus characterizing a highly structured and formal place, with rules and procedures governing the behavior of people. Research limitations/implications Some limitations of this study include: although a survey has been applied, the research cannot be classified as a quantitative study; it brings the opinion of a limited number of Brazilian experts about lean programs; both the sample size could be increased and the nationality of respondents could be expanded for future research. Practical implications It is proposed that an organization (or an area of the organization) that wants to be successful in its lean journey must, first, measure its OC and then promote a cultural profile aligned with the results presented in this paper. By doing so, it is expected that this lean journey should have a higher probability of long-term success and sustainability of lean practices, concepts and philosophy. Originality/value In the last two decades much has been written about the importance of OC in the success of lean programs. However, very few studies has mapped and measured an ILC in a way that allows researchers, consultants and managers to evaluate if an OC is close to or distant from an ILC.

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Continuous innovation and performance measurement methods and tools have been applied in companies as a means to develop improvement actions related to strategic objectives and to monitor results so as to give feedback for further action. However, continuous innovation and performance measurement methods and tools can also be applied to manage performance of a cluster of firms. After a brief review of continuous innovation and the concept of collective efficiency of a cluster, this paper presents a conceptual model for managing actions for improving collective efficiency and measuring performance of an SME cluster. A research case is reported, for which the conceptual model has been applied and results discussed. The paper concludes that despite some difficulties in developing and using performance indicators in SMEs, the concepts presented by the proposed model can help to foster cooperation and maturity in continuous innovation in clusters of SMEs.

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