CREATING A LEAN CULTURE ACROSS NATIONAL BOUNDARIES

Several multinational corporations have been engaged in transferring lean knowledge across manufac-turing units while seeking competitive advantage. However, transform a subsidiary in a lean organization it is not a simple task to fulfill. This paper reports on a recent transfer project successfully conducted by an Italian company in its non-lean subsidiary in China. Activities characterizing the early stages of the lean transfer process are discussed along with main issues faced by the headquarters and its role in cope with these criticalities. Key lessons learned from the experiences of the case study are summarized in the form of propositions. Understanding and properly handling socio-cultural differences between source and recipient units come out to be crucial to instill a lean culture to local workers and in turn successfully transfer lean knowledge.