Controlling learning processes and continuous improvement in production - Results of experimental studies

Learning processes and continuous improvement in production serve as the basis for the development of production capabilities and to a high extent influence the competitive advantage of manufacturing enterprises.

The target of the thesis is to contribute to research in the field of behavioral operations management and to present the results of laboratory experimental studies on learning and continuous improvement in production. We deal with a selection of underlying mechanisms that induce and control learning processes and continuous improvement on different organizational levels in production. On the one hand we focus on manufacturing processes on the shop floor, on the other hand we analyze decision making behavior in the context of production planning processes.

Referring to the manufacturing shop floor, we reveal which form of knowledge transfer due to different types of knowledge (i.e., explicit and tacit knowledge) is most beneficial for manufacturing performance and learning when either sole self-observation or self-observation and additional performance feedback is in place. Extending this research topic, we further analyze the process of explicit knowledge creation and identify implications for learning and continuous improvement processes in manufacturing enterprises.

Referring to production planning processes, we analyze to which extent the decision making performance depends on individual factors when learning a new production planning task. In this respect, the influence of different types of feedback systems on decision making performance and learning are researched while individual characteristics of decision makers are taken into account. The results have got highly relevant implications for the design of feedback and performance measurement reports in practice.