Adoption of Lean Management Principles in Small, Medium-Sized and Large Manufacturing Enterprises

Purpose: The paper aims to determine the adoption of lean management principles in the manufacturing industry, focusing on SMEs and analysing whether there are differences between enterprises according to their size. Methodology/Approach: The research was carried out using a questionnaire survey using objective sampling among managers of 433 manufacturing enterprises in the Czech Republic. Respondents rated the application of 26 lean management principles on a qualitative scale. Findings: The results show that the principles most commonly applied are respect for employees, customer orientation, personal responsibility, and safety procedures. Adopting lean principles is significant, depending on the size of the enterprise. Large enterprises have an advantage in systematically applying complex principles, such as standardisation and visualisation. Medium and small enterprises focus more on universal principles such as respect for employees’ Research Limitation/Implication: These results point to the need for a differentiated approach in implementing lean principles depending on the size of the enterprise. For lean management in SMEs, it is necessary to overcome their barriers and deal with challenges, from financial constraints to cultural resistance. Originality/Value of paper: The paper highlights the structural barriers of small and medium-sized enterprises in implementing complex lean principles. It contributes to the ongoing debate on why lean implementation in SMEs differs and why more demanding systems or advanced automation often fail.