Investigating the Relationship Between Kaizen and Organizational Performance: A Conceptual Framework for Police Agencies

Past studies about Kaizen have been inconclusive in clarifying the role of Kaizen implementation in organizations. The Kaizen literature indicates a mixed and ambiguous linkage between practices of Kaizen and organizational performance. Some case studies even reported that Kaizen has failed to accomplish the needed improvement in the organization. Some scholars reasoned that the mixed understanding of the Kaizen implementation could be due to the failure to consider the culture of the organization. Hence, this paper proposes that an innovation culture is developed as a result of Kaizen, leading to organizational performance. In developing the model, the paper is located within the context of police agencies/services where Kaizen implementation is limited. Keywords Kaizen, Organizational Performance, Innovation Culture