Author(s): Mulugeta Girma Dibiku
Kaizen is being increasingly used in cement industry to enhance productivity and overall performance. However, how productivity mediates between kaizen and organizational performance affect has not been explored in previous research. The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effect productivity among kaizen implementation dimensions (cost management, quality, delivery, operational safety) and performance. Survey data were gathered from 345 respondents working in selected cement factories in Ethiopia, samples were allocated proportional to the number of employees in selected organizations. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed for the data analysis. The results suggest that the productivity highly mediate kaizen dimension (cost, quality, and operational safety) with overall organizational achievement/performance. Delivery is the least dimension mediated by productivity