PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate how soft lean practices moderate the performance effects of hard lean practices. The authors provide new evidence from the pharmaceutical industry, which is characterized by a highly regulated and technical environment and has been largely uncharted in the lean literature.Design/methodology/approachBased on a review of the literature, the authors define a set of soft and hard lean practices. The authors test the hypotheses using factor analysis and moderated hierarchical linear regression on a unique dataset containing survey data and real performance measures of 351 pharmaceutical plants.FindingsThe results show that soft lean practices can be both enabling and constraining. When management engages in performance measurement, visualisation and employee empowerment the relationship between hard lean practices and performance is positively moderated. On the other hand, when managers emphasise goal setting and work standardisation the performance outcomes are reduced.Practical implicationsEffective lean managers build organisational commitment by motivating other employees to implement lean. They use performance measurement, visualisation and employee empowerment to focus on the “why”. Less effective managers engage in commanding and micro-management. Such managers focus on the “what” by using practices like goal setting and work standardisation.Originality/valueThis article contributes to the literature on lean management by empirically testing the moderator-variable interaction effects between soft and hard lean practices. In addition, it adds new evidence from the important pharmaceutical industry.

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PurposeDo managers at different hierarchical levels in a firm perceive the effectiveness of a lean program differently, and does it matter for their commitment to it and the resulting lean implementation? This study answers these questions by analyzing the perceptions and behaviors of top and middle managers in a manufacturer deploying a global lean program.Design/methodology/approachThe authors hypothesize that managers at different levels perceive lean programs differently, which, in turn, should affect their commitment to lean and the resulting implementation. To test these relationships empirically, the authors collect survey data from a global manufacturer in the process industry and analyze them using hierarchical linear regression and structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings show that middle managers perceive lean programs as more effective than top managers do. They further show that higher commitment from the top and middle managers to the lean program is positively related to building the organizational infrastructure needed for lean implementation.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is conducted in one global company. Although the research setting implicitly controls for many possible confounding variables, such as the product and process complexity or organizational culture, future research can explore and test the findings in other organizational contexts.Originality/valueThis study is the first to empirically study the relations between perceptions of and commitment to lean programs across different hierarchical levels and what it means for program implementation. The paper contributes new plausible explanations for why many lean programs slow down.

Cannabis is an emerging industry and like other strictly regulated products prone to fraud. Its medical application and increased regulatory pressure call for secure supply chains and product authenticity. Blockchain's capability to strengthen end-to-end traceability in supply chains has the potential to provide the required levels of assurance. In this study, we, describe effective ways of how to integrate Blockchain technology within the cannabis supply chain and other required technologies to ensure product authenticity. Our results show that blockchain is a powerful and promising technology that can effectively improve supply chain transparency and support regulatory compliance. Nevertheless, blockchain alone can only ensure data security and does not capture the linkage between the physical product and its data, which is an important consideration regarding product fraud. For this reason, we conclude that blockchain is an enabling technology that still needs to be supported by further supplementary technologies, such as nuclear magnetic resonance-based screening technology, Internet of Things, and communication standards. Used together, these technologies can ensure product authenticity in cannabis supply chains.

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