Title: Lean operations and competitive advantage in the pharmaceutical industry

Authors: Abdel-Aziz Ahmad Sharabati

Addresses: Business Faculty, Middle East University, Amman, Jordan

Abstract: The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of lean operations on Jordanian pharmaceutical manufacturing (JPM) organisations' competitive advantage. The data was collected by using a questionnaire from 116 managers working at 10 out of 14 JPM organisations. After confirming the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, the researcher conducted a correlation test between variables to check relationships, then multiple regressions to test the hypothesis. The results show that JPM organisations implement selective lean tools and competitive advantage dimensions. The research found that there is a strong relationship between lean tools, and between competitive advantage dimensions, as well as, between lean tools and competitive advantage. Regressions show that lean tools significantly affect cost, speed, and reliability, but do not significantly affect quality and innovation. Moreover, lead-time, setup time, inspection time, and delivery time significantly affect competitive advantage, while inventory does not significantly affect competitive advantage. The research recommends that carrying out similar studies to investigate the effect of lean tools on other industries in Jordan, and on the pharmaceutical industry in other counties to test results generalisability.

Keywords: lean operations; lead-time; setup time; inspection time; delivery time; inventory; competitive advantage; pharmaceutical industry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2023.129463

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2023 Vol.44 No.3, pp.293 - 316

Received: 10 Oct 2020
Accepted: 18 Jan 2021
Published online: 10 Mar 2023 *

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