Kaizen: Strategischer Ansatz zur Etablierung eines kontinuierlichen Innovationsprozesses bei mittelständischen Unternehmen

Kaizen is the Japanese concept of management based on a philosophy of eternal change, which is to keep a continuous improvement process going. This article shows, that the Kaizen philosophy provides an appropriate strategic basis for establishing a continuous innovation process in medium-sized companies. The first chapter explains the basic characteristics of the concept of innovation and the importance of small and medium-sized companies and their ability to innovate. The second chapter outlines the Kaizen approach and its various paradigms and systems. The third chapter describes how a Kaizen-based, continuous innovation process can be implemented in medium-sized companies.