Lean in universities: assessing practicality across university functions

The lean management approach supports the ambitions of the European Union Industry 5.0 doctrine in human-centricity, adequate use of technology, and sustainability. Yet universities, the sources of scholarly wisdom, have been slow in investigating and implementing the approach in their teaching or, moreover, the university’s own processes. This study investigates one of the most frequently listed barriers to implementing lean in universities – resistance by the academics. This quantitative study unveils significant differences in the practicality of lean practices in supporting scholarly research and the university’s administrative activities. Based on the findings, we provided recommendations on the involvement of university staff in lean implementations in a university.