Enablers and inhibitors for sustainability of continuous improvement: A qualitative study in the automotive industry suppliers in the Valencia Region

In recent years it has been widely discussed the use of continuous improvement in all kind of business and particularly in companies belonging to the automotive industry. Many authors mention improvements, in key indicators of production through the use of continuous improvement tools. At the same time, different authors talk about how to sustain the continuous improvement over time, and try to identify inhibitors and enablers for the sustainability of continuous improvement. But despite this, one can still find first tier suppliers in the automotive industry which have not implemented systems of continuous improvement. This study aims to identify, classify, prioritize and discuss the different enablers and inhibitors which can be found in automotive suppliers companies. For that reason some interviews were conducted with first tier suppliers in the automotive industry that have succeeded or failed in implementing continuous improvement. We have tried to understand better the problems for the implementation and sustainability of continuous improvement.