Identification and investigation into the barriers to Green Lean Six Sigma implementation: a micro small and medium enterprises perspective: Fid-Bau Portal

Identification and investigation into the barriers to Green Lean Six Sigma implementation: a micro small and medium enterprises perspective

Mohan, Jag / Kaswan, Mahender Singh / Rathi, Rajeev

Abstract

Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play a key role in economic growth and employment generation. MSMEs are facing challenges related to Green House Gases (GHGs) emissions and compliance with other environmental regulations. Green Lean Six Sigma (GLSS) is a comprehensive approach that reduces negative environmental impacts and improves product quality. However, the current level of adoption of GLSS in MSMEs is limited due to various challenges faced by these organisations. This can be attributed to different barriers in the adoption of sustainable business practices like GLSS adopted by organizations. Therefore, the current research deals with prioritising and investigating GLSS barriers in Indian MSMEs. Thirty-five barriers of GLSS in MSMEs were identified through a systematic literature review and then prioritization of the same was performed using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), and validated through grey relational analysis. In this study, the authors used a purposive sampling technique to collect the responses for the analysis of GLSS barriers. The pilot-tested questionnaire was sent to 560 personnel (LSS personnel, academician and industry professionals) out of which 364 responses were received, and 14 responses were further neglected due to the incompleteness of the questionnaire. A final sample of 350 responses was considered for the analysis. The results of this study indicate that ‘Lack of top leadership support for GLSS adoption’, ‘Involvement of inadequate employees that missing to implementing new strategies’ and ‘Lack of technology action plan for GLSS’ are the top-ranked barriers with TOPSIS performance values of 0.8709, 0.869, and 0.8678 respectively. This research work will foster the implementation of GLSS within MSMEs by facilitating a comprehensive understanding of GLSS barriers and prioritization of the same. Further, the findings of this study will be beneficial for MSMEs to cope with their current level of emissions, and further formulate policies to mitigate challenges to pollution and climate change.