Identifying the Critical Drivers of a Culture of Continuous Improvement using Regression Models

Ever since lean management was introduced, the topics of a culture of continuous improvement and lean management tools have been widely researched and implemented across various types of organizations. However, there is a lack of empirical studies that investigate the most important drivers for creating, growing, and sustaining a culture of continuous improvement. This paper systematically investigated the significance of different potential drivers of a culture of continuous improvement using data from 28 teams within the Raymond Corporation of the material handling industry. Potential factors or drivers of culture were determined from pre-existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and through brainstorming sessions with the lean management team. To examine these factors, four different regression models were applied to calculate weights of significance or correlation for each factor in consideration of each team's overall grade. As a result, this paper identified the 8 factors that account for 50% of significance, empowering people from any organization to take a targeted and effective approach into implementing and sustaining a culture of continuous improvement.