Leveraging fitness and lean bundles to build the cumulative performance sand cone model

This study examines the relationship between bundles of lean practices and cumulative performance, as described by the sand cone model. Based on the literature, hypotheses relating lean bundles to cumulative performance are proposed. They are tested using a sample of 317 plants in three industries and ten countries, based on structural equation modeling. The results indicate a set of direct and indirect relationships that illustrate: (1) the importance of organizational fitness at the base of the sand cone of practices, (2) the cumulative relationship of competitive performance, supporting the sand cone model, and (3) the cumulative relationship between lean bundles and the sand cone sequence of cumulative performance. Testing alternative models of cumulative performance lends further support to these results. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for managers seeking guidance in competing on multiple dimensions of competitive performance simultaneously, particularly in terms of establishing a foundation of organizational fitness for the cumulative implementation of lean bundles. It contributes to the literature on manufacturing strategy and lean by providing additional support for the sand cone of cumulative performance, expanding research on the sand cone of practices that support cumulative performance, describing the role that external resources like suppliers can play in mastering lean cumulatively and separating previous research on lean bundles into those related to fitness and those with a more specific goal orientation, building on the strong foundation provided by the extended resource based view and the concept of absorptive capacity. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.