Barriers to Lean Manufacturing implementation for manufacturing industries in Tanzania

Purpose As some industries fail when trying to adopt Lean Manufacturing in Tanzania, this study aims to identify and suggest a framework for addressing the barriers to Lean Manufacturing implementation in the context of Tanzania’s manufacturing industries by making reference to a dynamic capability theory. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a survey research design. The purposive and random sampling techniques were used to collect data from 243 respondents from all levels of manufacturing industries in Tanzania, that is, micro, small, medium and large. SPSS and Smart PLS were used to analyse the data. The SPSS was used to analyse demographic information and inferential statistics, such as ANOVA, to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in barriers for micro, small, medium and large manufacturing industries in Tanzania. The Smart PLS was used to identify critical barriers to Lean Manufacturing implementation in Tanzania. Findings The study has revealed 18 barriers in five categories that are critical for the implementation of Lean Manufacturing in Tanzania. The barriers are in management, financial, human resource-related, technical and external-related categories. Of the 18 barriers identified, five are specific to Tanzania, which include changing government policies, negative attitudes of employees, employees’ fear of job cutting, the complexity of company processes and excessive pressure from the owners. Moreover, the study revealed that there is a statistically significant difference in barriers to micro, small, medium and large manufacturing industries in Tanzania. Moreover, the framework for addressing barriers to LM has been proposed. Research limitations/implications The barriers used were adopted from only one piece of literature. Moreover, the study has not evaluated the weights of each barrier. The weights of the barriers could have assisted the practitioners in how to prioritise weights on overcoming them. Practical implications The framework for addressing barriers to Lean Manufacturing in Tanzania will be used by owners, managers and practitioners of the respective manufacturing industries in addressing barriers to the competitive advantage of their firms, which in the long run will improve their operational and financial performance. Originality/value This is the first study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to evaluate and propose a framework for addressing barriers to Lean Manufacturing implementation for manufacturing industries in Tanzania.