A qualitative global study on the digitalization of Lean Six Sigma: insights from scholars and practitioners

As organizations transition toward digital environments enabled by Industry 4.0 technologies, the “Lean Six Sigma 4.0” (LSS 4.0) paradigm has emerged. While integrating LSS principles with digital technologies offers significant potential, research on its benefits, challenges, and adoption requirements remains limited. This global study addresses research and practice gap through conducting 18 semi-structured interviews with scholars and practitioners, leading to the development of a conceptual framework for adopting LSS 4.0. Findings highlight a strong synergy between LSS methodologies and Industry 4.0, with organizations motivated to achieve operational excellence through data-driven digitalization. However, challenges such as employee skills and training must be addressed for successful implementation. The study reveals that the operational dimension is the most impacted, while governance is least affected. By advancing understanding of LSS 4.0, this study provides practical valuable insights for organizations to assess readiness, manage digital transformation, and strategically adopt this emerging paradigm.