An empirical investigation of the impact of lean manufacturing practices on corporate social performance: a sociotechnical perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the unique and interactive effects of hard lean practices (HLPs) and soft lean practices (SLPs) on corporate social performance (CSP), as well as the moderating effect of lean maturity on the relationships between each type of practices and CSP. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a purely quantitative approach, a survey-based questionnaire methodology was used as a tool to collect data from 127 manufacturing companies located in Tunisia, and a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was employed to analyze the collected data and validate the research hypotheses. Findings The study findings indicate that, firstly, HLPs negatively affect CSP; secondly, SLPs positively influence CSP; and thirdly, the interaction effect of HLPs and SLPs is negative regarding CSP. Additionally, the moderating effect of lean maturity on the relationship between HLPs, SLPs and CSP was found to be insignificant. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to manufacturing companies in Tunisia, and its results cannot reflect other geographical contexts. Practical implications The current research provides valuable insights for practitioners by showing the importance of SLPs, in particular, in enhancing CSP. Originality/value This research provides new insights into the various findings and conclusions reached by previous studies in the literature regarding the impact of lean manufacturing practices on CSP by highlighting the unique and interactive effect of HLPs and SLPs on CSP.