“…Originating in the Japanese automotive industry, the lean concept has evolved from 'hard' tools to soft practices that were developed based on a 'human-centric system approach', which is no longer limited to the automotive and manufacturing industry (Danese, Manfè, & Romano, 2018;Stone, 2012). Over the past few years, the lean concept has been increasingly adopted in other industries, such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, construction, mining, agriculture, food processing, product development, and supply chain management (Danese et al, 2018;Lanke, Ghodrati, & Lundberg, 2016;Torkko, Linna, Katajavuori, & Juppo, 2013). The concept is also often associated with process improvement approaches, such as just-in-time, total quality management, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement (Stone, 2012).…”