Anxiety that Drives Kaizen: A Strategic Blueprint for Kaizen Implementation Across Borders

Lunch seminar in presence

Building BL26 – Room 0.19 (ground floor)
Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering
Via R. Lambruschini, 4/B

Kodo Yokozawa
Yokohama National University, Japan

Abstract:

Kaizen has been widely recognised as a foundational element of Japanese management, yet its international transfer continues to encounter significant challenges. Conventional scholarship has primarily emphasised structural and cultural barriers, while psychological mechanisms underlying Kaizen adoption remain insufficiently theorised. This study proposes anxiety as a central explanatory construct in understanding cross-border Kaizen implementation.

Drawing on psychological research, anxiety is conceptualised as a double-edged phenomenon: excessive anxiety can lead to fear, avoidance, and resistance, whereas moderate levels can serve as a motivational driver, fostering vigilance, persistence, and problem-focused coping. Building on this framework, the blueprint argues that effective Kaizen implementation requires the systematic management of anxiety at multiple levels. At the organisational level, human resource practices and training systems must transform moderate anxiety into constructive engagement, thereby enabling employees to sustain incremental improvement. At the national level, macro-level “anxiety climates” may significantly condition the receptivity and adaptation of Kaizen practices.

By integrating insights from organisational psychology and international management, this blueprint contributes to both theory and practice. It reframes anxiety not solely as a barrier but as a potential catalyst for Kaizen-driven innovation, thereby offering a novel perspective on the dynamics of global management system transfer.

Kodo Yokozawa is an accomplished scholar and alumnus of the University of Twente, the Netherlands, where he earned his PhD in the transfer of Japanese management systems, with a focus on Kaizen implementation. Building on this foundation, his current research investigates the relationship between employee anxiety and the effectiveness of Kaizen practices, proposing that national-level anxiety may critically influence their global transfer and application. His pioneering work explores the psychological and cultural mechanisms that shape the adoption of management practices across contexts, offering fresh insights into both the challenges and opportunities organisations face in pursuing operational excellence. For his contributions, he received the Yokohama National University Best Research Award in 2023.