Title: Revisiting the concept of 5S: a comparative analysis study through the lens of pioneers

Authors: Manuel F. Suárez-Barraza; José Ángel Miguel-Davila; Kodo Yokozawa

Addresses: International Business Department, Universidad de las Américas Puebla (UDLAP), Avenida Santa Catarina Mártir s/n. San Andrés Cholula, Puebla, México ' Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Empresariales de la Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana s/n 24071, León, Spain ' Department of Business Administration, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Japan

Abstract: The global pandemic due to the COVID-19 disease promoted webinars, courses and seminars on social networks. One of these themes in the midst of all the webinars and trainings has been the 5S. This profiling has generated confusion and failures when applying it. Therefore, it is a priority to review and study them from the perspective of the two pioneering authors of the technique Osada (1989, 1991) and Hirano (1995), to try to generate greater theoretical-practical light from its origins in the within Japanese organisations. Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) is an analytic approach and set of research tools that combines detailed within-case analysis and formalised crosscase comparisons. Our main findings were a theoretical intersection between the works of Osada (1991) and Hirano (1995) to describe the common elements of all the 'S' of the 5S technique.

Keywords: 5S; conceptual analysis; qualitative comparative analysis; QCA; Osada; Hirano.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPQM.2026.151776

International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 2026 Vol.47 No.2, pp.141 - 167

Received: 21 Mar 2023
Accepted: 19 Jul 2023
Published online: 19 Feb 2026 *

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