Handbook of Management Scales/Customer involvement

Customer involvement (alpha > 0.7; composite reliability = 0.85; average variance extracted = 0.55) edit

Description edit

The research takes a step toward clarifying the concept of lean production and develops and validates a multi-dimensional measure of lean production. The 10 distinct dimensions of a lean system are continuous flow, customer involvement, employee involvement, JIT delivery by suppliers, pull, set up time reduction, statistical process control, supplier development, supplier feedback, and total productive/preventive maintenance.

Definition edit

Lean production is an integrated socio-technical system whose main objective is to eliminate waste by concurrently reducing or minimizing supplier, customer, and internal variability. This dimension of lean production is about focusing on a firm’s customers and their needs.

Items edit

Please indicate the extent of implementation of each of the following practices in your plant. (1) no implementation; (2) little implementation; (3) some implementation; (4) extensive implementation; (5) complete implementation.

  • We frequently are in close contact with our customers.
  • Our customers give us feedback on quality and delivery performance.
  • Our customers are actively involved in current and future product offerings.
  • Our customers are directly involved in current and future product offerings.
  • Our customers frequently share current and future demand information with key marketing department.

Source edit

Customer involvement (alpha = 0.672) edit

Items edit

  • We are frequently in close contact with customers.
  • Our customers seldom visit our plant. (not used in Flynn/Flynn 1999)
  • Our customers give us feedback on quality and delivery performance.
  • Our customers are actively involved in the product design process.
  • We strive to be highly responsive to our customers' needs.
  • We regularly survey our customers' requirements.

Source edit