Journal
JOURNAL OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Volume 26, Issue 4, Pages 536-554Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1016/j.jom.2007.06.007
Keywords
quality management; Six Sigma; organizational issues; case/field study
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Six Sigma has been gaining momentum in industry; however, academics have conducted little research on this emerging phenomenon. Understanding Six Sigma first requires providing a conceptual definition and identifying an underlying theory. In this paper we use the grounded theory approach and the scant literature available to propose an initial definition and theory of Six Sigma. Our research argues that although the tools and techniques in Six Sigma are strikingly similar to prior approaches to quality management, it provides an organizational structure not previously seen. This emergent structure for quality management helps organizations more rigorously control process improvement activities, while at the same time creating a context that enables problem exploration between disparate organizational members. Although Six Sigma provides benefits over prior approaches to quality management, it also creates new challenges for researchers and practitioners. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.
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