We examine organizational innovation through the adoption of lean inventory management and its impact on firm performance. Specifically, we investigate the moderating roles of firm size and occurrence of an external shock in the relation between lean inventory management and firm performance. Lean inventory management refers to the practice of holding minimum levels of inventory to reduce storage costs and save financial resources and is therefore expected to have a positive on impact firm performance. As small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face significant resource constraints, lean inventory management is potentially more beneficial for them than for large firms. However, the external disruption caused by an external shock, such as the COVID-19, has more severe consequences for lean SMEs than for larger firms. Using a large sample of French SMEs and large firms, we find evidence to support this view in all major industries. During the COVID-19 crisis, the positive effect of lean inventory management diminished for SMEs. The results have implications for managers regarding inventory management practices.

我们通过采用精益库存管理来研究组织创新及其对公司绩效的影响。具体来说，我们研究了企业规模和外部冲击的发生在精益库存管理和企业绩效之间的关系中的调节作用。精益库存管理是指保持最低水平的库存以降低存储成本并节省财务资源的做法，因此预计会对公司绩效产生积极影响。由于中小型企业 (SME) 面临严重的资源限制，精益库存管理对它们来说可能比大公司更有利。然而，由外部冲击（例如 COVID-19）造成的外部破坏对精益中小企业的影响比对大企业更严重。通过使用法国中小企业和大公司的大量样本，我们在所有主要行业找到了支持这一观点的证据。在 COVID-19 危机期间，精益库存管理对中小企业的积极影响有所减弱。研究结果对管理者有关库存管理实践的影响。