A conceptual typology for social lean and social sustainability integration

Purpose This paper examines how social lean (SL) and social sustainability (SS) are addressed in existing empirical research and how their interaction is conceptualized. While social aspects appear across different streams of lean- and sustainability-related articles, the interaction between SL and SS is rarely examined in a systematic or explicit way. The purpose of this paper is therefore to provide a structured conceptual basis for organizing existing research and guiding future studies of SL–SS interactions and their key dimensions. Design/methodology/approach This paper establishes an SL–SS interaction typology consisting of six key dimensions: SL maturity, SS maturity, dominant focus, co-influencing factors, interaction type and direction of interaction. The typology is applied to categorize 16 empirical articles on the interaction between SL and SS in a coverage matrix. The papers were identified through a focused literature review using Web of Science, Scopus and snowballing. The results were synthesized into four integrated pathways representing different configurations of SL–SS interaction and highlighting opportunities for future research. Findings Most papers address only limited aspects of the interaction, typically adopting a lean-dominant focus while giving less attention to SS maturity, co-influencing factors and reverse or mutual interactions. As a result, important interaction patterns remain underexplored, and the relationship is often implicitly assumed rather than explicitly analyzed. Research limitations/implications The focused review may have omitted relevant studies and does not establish causal relationships between individual SL and SS practices. In addition, the proposed pathways are analytical configurations based on the available empirical literature rather than empirically tested relationships, which should be further examined in future research. Practical implications The findings show that lean initiatives do not automatically generate SS benefits. The typology can help managers consider social objectives more explicitly when implementing lean, reflect on whether SL and SS are treated in a balanced way and identify possible tensions or trade-offs. It may therefore support a more deliberate integration of social objectives into lean implementation, rather than treating SS merely as its by-product. Originality/value This paper contributes by developing and applying a novel typology specifically focused on the interaction between SL and SS, an area that remains fragmented in prior lean and sustainability research. Unlike previous studies that mainly examine whether lean supports sustainability outcomes, the typology distinguishes between different directions of interaction, interaction types, maturity levels, dominant focus and co-influencing factors. This enables a more explicit and comparable analysis of SL–SS interactions and provides a structured basis for identifying underexplored pathways, conceptual gaps and directions for more systematic future research.