Can human lean practices affect business performance? Evidence from Zimbabwe service industries

Purpose: This research seeks to explore the interrelationships between human lean practices (HLP) and their impact on the business performance of service industries. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was used to collect data from the service industries in Zimbabwe, and 260 valid responses were obtained. The questionnaire was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) in SmartPLS. Findings: Both the managerial human lean practices (MHLP) and employee human lean practices (EHLP) were found to positively impact business performance. Also, the MHLP had a positive relationship with EHLP. Research limitations/implications: The research focused on Zimbabwe’s service industry; hence, the results may not be readily adopted by other industries and countries without further investigations. Practical implications: The improvement in business performance is centered on the activities of humans, both the employees and managers. Therefore, organizations should invest more in human resources to enhance their performance. Originality/value: Lean manufacturing (LM) is well known for its adoption in the manufacturing industry; thus, extending it to other sectors requires further research. Although a few studies have investigated the effect of adopting Lean in the service sector, they did not explore the relationship between MHLP and EHLP and the importance of such a relationship toward improved business performance.