Paradoxical Association Between Lean Manufacturing, Sustainability Practices and Triple Bottom Line Performance
研究了印度177家制造企业中精益制造与环境和社会实践对三重底线绩效的直接与交互影响，发现精益制造单独有益，但与可持续实践结合时反而损害绩效。
This study examines the associations between lean manufacturing (LM), sustainability practices, and corporate performance in the form of the triple bottom line (TBL). In particular, we examine how LM is associated with environmental practices (EPs) and social practices (SPs) for TBL performance. While the positive association between LM and EPs is widely discussed in literature, it remains unclear whether this association persists when firms aim to implement SPs together with EPs to improve TBL performance further, particularly from the Asian perspective. Using two conflicting views of corporate sustainability as a theoretical lens, we seek to address these gaps by developing a set of hypotheses about the direct and interactive associations among them. The data were collected via a survey of 177 manufacturing firms in India, one being regarded as a next global manufacturing hub. Based on the data, we conducted ordinary least squares regression analysis. The results suggest that LM is positively associated with EPs, SPs, and TBL performance. Nevertheless, when LM interacts with EPs, SPs or both, we find that it is detrimental for TBL performance. These results are further validated by additional analyses using Johnson–Neyman and bootstrapping techniques. This article contributes to the sustainable operations management and lean manufacturing literature by untangling complex and paradoxical association between LM, sustainability practices, and TBL performance. Also, our article initiates a crucial discussion on ways of managing paradoxical tensions between LM and sustainability practices.