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Management Science Vol. 46 No. 5 2000

Behind the Learning Curve: Linking Learning Activities to Waste Reduction

Michael A. Lapré1; Amit Shankar Mukherjee2; Luk N. Van Wassenhove3

1 Boston University School of Management, 595 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215 · 2 125 Summer Street, Watertown, Massachusetts 02472 · 3 INSEAD, Boulevard de Constance, 77305, Fontainebleau Cedex, France.

Abstract

This exploratory research on a decade of Total Quality Management in one factory opens up the black box of the learning curve. Based on the organizational learning literature, we derive a quality learning curve that links different types of learning in quality improvement projects to the evolution of the factory's waste rate. Only 25% of the quality improvement projects—which acquired both know-why and know-how—accelerated waste reduction. The other 75% of the projects either impeded or did not affect waste reduction. In complex and dynamic production environments, locally acquired knowledge is difficult to disseminate. The combination of know-why and know-how facilitates its dissemination.

DOI
10.1287/mnsc.46.5.597.12049
Volume
46
Issue
5
Pages
597-611
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref bibtex:phds-export.bib

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