Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impingement of lean manufacturing practices (LMPs) in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of Northern India and their relationship with firm performance. This paper makes an attempt to identify the lean practices, which are more beneficial and their impact on firm performance. Design/methodology/approach In this study, a qualitative survey of 183 Northern India SMEs is collected and analysed using correlation, regression, canonical analysis and ANOVA test are conducted for developing relationships between them. Findings The outcome of this study indicates that the embracement of lean is necessary for their survival in this competitive spirit. Lean practices helped the SMEs to cope up with the persistent stress given by the spirited market. From the data investigation, it is revealed that total productive maintenance, supplier management, just-in-time and five S practices enhance the firm performance. Other practices such as plant management practices, operational and people practices found in a lesser extent than previous ones. From the correlation, it is revealed that lean practices have a strong relationship with firm performance. In one-way ANOVA test results indicating that the number of firms, which are less in the initial stage of lean implementation and much more impressive in a transition stage. Research limitations/implications The chosen approach for this research study was the cross-sectional one limited to the northern region of India and the investigated variables. Practical implications This study will help the stakeholders and manufacturers to enhance the performance of firms using LMPs, especially in a developing country. From these findings, practitioners and academicians would focus on vital issues related to firm enhancement apart from operational measures. Originality/value This study is one of the first attempts in which relation is developed between LMPs and firm performance and further data are investigated using canonical cross loadings and ANOVA analysis.

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to recognize critical barriers for Lean manufacturing practices implementation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) focusing in the context of a developing economy. The advancement of SMEs is of utmost important for a surge in exports while competing with other countries and these barriers have to be given due importance as they play a major role in stalling the overall development of SMEs. Design/methodology/approach In this present investigation, 26 barriers to Lean implementation in SMEs have been identified after an extensive study of the literature available on the subject. After that, the influential barriers were investigated through the Analytical hierarchy process-Technique of order preference by similarity to ideal solution (AHP-TOPSIS) method using priority weightage given to them by different experts in their industries. The ranking given to the barriers is based on the AHP-TOPSIS method and has been validated by the sensitivity analysis. Findings The investigation reveals that for the successful implementation of Lean manufacturing practices, the will of the management, individual will power and contribution of the people matter a lot apart from other barriers such as flexibility, expertise of the people, resources and resistance offered by the people to new programs. The solutions for overcoming these barriers are also provided in this study and a model has been suggested for the same. Research limitations/implications This work was devoted to the evaluation of obstacles in the introduction of Lean practices and prioritizing them. But it was limited to the medium- and small-scale organizations located in Northern India. Further studies can expand the scope to the large-scale units in the field. Moreover, the scope of this study was confined to the manufacturing sector. Future studies can extend it to the non-manufacturing environments such as the service sector, health care, etc. This investigation was based on the judgments of industry experts and academicians. Another approach such as Viekriterijumsko kompromisno rangiranje can be used for future investigations. Originality/value This study is significant when keeping in mind the contribution of SMEs to a country’s economy, especially in the Indian context.

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