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The grounded theory method is adopted in this study to depict the profile of the key evolutionary operational improvement activities.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Findings<\/jats:title><jats:p>Based on the results of the qualitative empirical study, six major dimensions of operational improvement are identified. Further, eight empirical propositions are proposed with detailed descriptions.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Research limitations\/implications<\/jats:title><jats:p>The results are based on international manufacturing companies in Taiwan, and thus cannot be generalized to situations in other emerging countries and industries without further research.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Practical implications<\/jats:title><jats:p>By referring to the results of this work, managers can better understand the relationships among operational improvement activities, and thus increase the chances to benefit from operational improvement initiatives.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title><jats:p>This paper adds to the literature by providing new empirical insights into the relationships among operational improvement activities.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/02635571211255050","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2014,1,24]],"date-time":"2014-01-24T08:26:16Z","timestamp":1390551976000},"page":"1123-1141","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Exploration of the key evolutionary operational improvement activities"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"112","author":[{"given":"Chinho","family":"Lin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kang\u2010Wei","family":"Chai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Acosta, Z. and Febles, J. 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