@article{439400,
      recid = {439400},
      author = {Marutschke, David.},
      title = {Continuous improvement strategies Japanese convenience  store systems / [electronic resource] :},
      publisher = {Palgrave Macmillan,},
      address = {Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ;},
      pages = {1 online resource (xi, 203 p.) :},
      year = {2012},
      abstract = {Taking into consideration the recent structural changes in  Japan's consumer market, David Marutschke presents an  analysis of the continuous improvement strategies of  Japanese convenience store operators. This study highlights  the efforts of companies operating under lean management  systems to reenergize their organizations and to identify  new, dynamic, firm-specific capabilities in markets which  are highly competitive and in an evolutionary stage of  maturity. It challenges existing views that incremental  innovation is directly linked to a culture of risk  avoidance and a focus on organic growth. This book suggests  that the Japanese strategy for continuous improvement and  lean thinking is able to overcome cultural rigidity if  projects that promote change include a comprehensive  organizational strategy. It suggests how companies can  sustain continuous long-term improvement: an objective  which western firms often fail to achieve.},
      url = {http://library.usi.edu/record/439400},
}