Cumulative capabilities and lean: A test of the sandcone model

The worldwide financial crisis has forced companies to explore opportunities for reducing costs without compromising operational performance. We explore the mechanisms through which performance excellence can be simultaneously achieved on multiple dimensions, through lean manufacturing (LM). A cumulative model is used to empirically examine whether LM (operationalized as Shah and Ward’s (2007) bundles of LM practices) is related to operational performance (based on Ferdows and Demeyer’s (1990) sandcone model). Structural equation modeling with a sample of 317 manufacturing plants indicated that the sequential introduction of LM practices is associated with performance excellence on multiple dimensions, strongly supporting the sandcone model.