Indirect Effect of Customer Relations on Leadership/Top Management, Employee Relations and Process Management in Examining the Readiness of SMEs to Implement Lean Initiatives

Before deployment of lean initiative, it is of great significance to examine the readiness of manufacturing SMEs to ensure they have the prerequisite for successful implementation. Consequently, in order to determine how prepared Nigerian manufacturing SMEs are to successfully adopt lean initiatives, the study measures the indirect effects of customer relations on leadership/top management, employee relations, and process management. Data for the study was collected from manufacturing SMEs and analyzed using Smart PLS-SEM 4.1. The study's conclusions demonstrate the substantial indirect effects that customer relationships have on employee relations, leadership/top management, and process management. Additionally, a positive correlation between employee relations and leadership/top management and process management is indicated by the direct effect findings. The study reiterates the imperatives of customers at the center of lean philosophy and emphasizes the need for synergy between leadership and employees in effective process management. The study also provides a new insight into the indirect effect of customer relations and the need for top management and employee relations in assessing the manufacturing SMEs' preparedness to implement lean initiatives for the actualization of quality and continuous improvement.