Barriers to Implementing Lean Management in Smes: A Systemic Literature Review

Abstract

There is a consensus that SMEs are the main vehicle for the economic development of countries. Lean is a well-established method of organizational philosophy that allows businesses to improve their operations and start more efficiently with greater value and less waste. In addition, SMEs have more obstacles to innovation in their resources and capacities than large enterprises. This makes adopting lean much more difficult for them. Indeed, research on these barriers, shows that the majority of research focused on large companies and omitted SMEs. Therefore, this study will complement a literature review on the barriers to adopting Lean management in SMEs. In this context, we used 35 articles whose titles, abstracts and keywords were studied separately. These data are collected from specific databases which included: Scopus, web of science and science direct. Thus, an inclusive discussion of the barriers associated with the implementation of Lean in SMEs is established.