Self‐managed work teams and manufacturing strategies: Cultural influences in the search for team effectiveness and competitive advantage

This article examines the relationship between manufacturing strategy and self‐managed work teams. The implementation of team working and lean production as a strategy designed to improve competitive advantage is juxtaposed with the cultural influences utilizing Hofstede's (1980) model of cultural dimensions. Case study material illustrates the contrasting positions posed by the different cultural and philosophical bases of lean production and self‐managed work teams. The resulting disequilibrium may explain why the implementation of teams in Western environments has proved less successful than anticipated in the manufacturing context. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.