The use of lean methods in central eastern European countries: The case of Czech and Slovak Republic

Abstract

Increasing competition, both at the global and local levels, shortening product life cycle, and strengthening customer's position are only some of the factors currently affecting the viability of businesses. To stay at a market, retain old and gain new customers businesses are constantly looking for new ways to improve. One of the possibilities to improve is the lean concept. This concept offers the ways to find the points with waste and eliminate them. The main objective of this research is to analyze the extent of lean methods’ use in Central Eastern European countries – Czech and Slovak Republics. Two surveys were carried out independently of each other between 2013 and 2017. The purpose of the researchers was to determine the extent of the selected industrial engineering methods’ use in both these countries through an online questionnaire survey. In general, the analyzed methods are more often implemented by businesses in Czech Republic, but the results also suggest that some of the analyzed methods are not implemented in these countries equally. E.g., Kaizen or 5S method are the methods more typical for the industrial companies in Czech Republic. On the other hand, for example, the Total Quality Management did not reveal statistically significant differences in the implementation by companies in Czech and Slovak Republics. © 2018, Centre of Sociological Research. All rights reserved.