Firm size and its impact on continuous improvement

Abstract

Building on a volume of previous work on Continuous Improvement (CI) in the supply chain based on the Continuous Improvement in Manufacturing Activity (CIMA) model, this paper significantly extends earlier work by examining the influences of firm size on organizational CI and on the individual contribution of all organizational departments to CI. Relationships between firm size on CI dispersion in the organisation and motivations for the implementation of CI; organisational experience with CI; problems encountered with CI implementation; and tools used in implementing and monitoring CI are also examined. The influence of firm size on reported benefits of CI is also investigated. Findings of this study provide support for earlier studies which held that firm size generally has little influence on CI innovation activity. However this study provides a finer grained analysis of the relationship between firm size and both the manner in which CI is undertaken and benefits flowing from CI. This study reinforces previous evidence that management in organisations should give serious consideration to strategies which enhance the spread of CI activities throughout their organisations