Identification of internal dynamics of Türkiye’s furniture industry in the context of lean manufacturing integration maturity

Abstract

This study's objective was to investigate lean manufacturing knowledge, awareness, and integration \rmaturity in one of Türkiye's most significant furniture manufacturer clusters and discover the extent \rof tapped and untapped potential offered by lean manufacturing for the furniture industry. This study \rdeveloped a survey-based data collection methodology consisting of five sections with different \rfeatures. Seventy-five small to large enterprises were invited to participate in the study. Out of \rseventy-five, twenty-seven furniture manufacturers participated in the study. The study revealed that \rlean manufacturing awareness and integration maturity vary significantly. This variation could prove \rlean manufacturing is still far from becoming a mainstream modern management technique for \rmembers of the furniture manufacturing cluster in Bursa, Türkiye. According to 92.59% of the study \rparticipants, reducing manufacturing costs is the most common internal motivation that either \rtriggered or has the potential to trigger lean manufacturing integration. Moreover, the amount of \rinvestment required (66.67%) to deploy lean manufacturing is the primary barrier encountered by the \rorganizations, followed by a lack of training opportunities for workers with a percentage of 62.96%. \rThis study was expected to serve as a valuable resource for academics and professionals intrigued by \rthe extent of the relationship between lean manufacturing and Turkish furniture industry members.