Lean is one of the most pervasive phenomena in management practice and literature. Four decades in, it still generates vivid interest and discussion. Few other business phenomena show such popularity and persistence. Taking an evolutionary perspective, the authors study the emergence, growth and maturation of lean from a scholarly perspective. They conduct the most extensive review of the lean literature to date by compiling two datasets: a Primary Lean Dataset consists of 6,920 unique lean articles published in the 35 years following the term’s inception, and a Cited Dataset holds 163,836 unique references cited in the articles in the Primary Lean Dataset. Using bibliometric techniques, the authors analyze where and how lean spreads across application areas, distill its dominant knowledge groups and derive the current trends in the literature. This extensive review contributes a data-driven overview of the evolution and state of the lean literature. Theoretically, it contributes an understanding of lean as an evolving business phenomenon, which holds enough genetic code to evolve and travel across application areas. Recognizing lean’s impressive longevity and travel capabilities, the authors ask whether lean will also be able to prevail through the revolutionary paradigm shift promised by new digital technologies and artificial intelligence, or if lean is now on its last leg. They explore and discuss the details of the lean literature’s past, current and future evolution, and use these rich insights to discuss promising research directions.
Netland et al. (2026) studied this question.