The Relationship of Lean Production and Business Performance in Malaysian Food Industry

Abstract

Attract satisfactory business performance is the basis for the enterprise's survival and the principal
reason for the existence of the firm, especially in the food industry, which faces challenges, such as
advanced manufacturing philosophies, which make the existing methods obsolete, therefore, changing
the traditional way of working to a world-class management system such as lean production which
could help companies survive and stay competitive s. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the
relationship between lean production and business performance of Malaysian companies in the food
industry. To have empirical evidence about these relationships, data have been collected from (187)
executive managers for (1309) Malaysian companies in the food industry. using a self-administered
questionnaire. The collected data have been analyzed using both descriptive statistics and multiple
regressions. Correlation analysis and multiple regressions using SPSS, version 22 have been performed
to measure the relationship between variables and to test the hypotheses related to the study. The results
of the paper reveal that lean production practices have a direct positive effect on business performance.
The study will help practitioners to anticipate potential obstacles and take proper measures to deal with
them during lean implementation.