The
worldwide
financial
crisis
has
forced
companies
to
explore
opportunities
for
reducing
costs
without
compromising
operational
performance.
We
explore
the
mechanisms
through
which
performance
excellence
can
be
simultaneously
achieved
on
multiple
dimensions,
through
lean
manufacturing
(LM).
A
cumulative
model
is
used
to
empirically
examine
whether
LM
(operationalized
as
Shah
and
Ward’s
(2007)
bundles
of
LM
practices)
is
related
to
operational
performance
(based
on
Ferdows
and
Demeyer’s
(1990)
sandcone
model).
Structural
equation
modeling
with
a
sample
of
317
manufacturing
plants
indicated
that
the
sequential
introduction
of
LM
practices
is
associated
with
performance
excellence
on
multiple
dimensions,
strongly
supporting
the
sandcone
model.
