Title: Impact of lean-green practices on production performance: evidence from SMEs of a developing economy

Authors: Muhammad Junaid Ahsan

Addresses: Department of Economics and Management, University of Pisa, Pisa, IT 19938, Italy

Abstract: Environmental concerns and sustainability issues attracted many practitioners' and researchers' attention still numerous small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies are reluctant to invest in environment-friendly practices with a doubt that investment in such practices might lead to negative production performance outcomes. To settle down this tension, our study examines the effect of green production practices on production performance and the intervening effect of lean practices between green production practices and production performance. The study employs a quantitative research method where survey-based data were collected from 227 SMEs from an emerging economy - Pakistan. Results unveil that green production practices have a significant positive impact on production performance. The interactive effect indicates a sharp rise in production performance when a firm implements lean practices in the production process. The study can help firm managers related to the investment in green and lean practices in the production system of SMEs in emerging economies.

Keywords: green production; lean production; production performance; sustainability; sustainable production.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISD.2024.140818

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 2024 Vol.18 No.5/6, pp.527 - 542

Received: 26 May 2022
Accepted: 25 Oct 2022
Published online: 03 Sep 2024 *

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