Today's production systems are complex sociotechnical systems. Especially during the production system ramp-up phase, which is of particular importance in terms of ensuring a timely, qualitatively and cost efficient market entry, both technical challenges, as well as the integration of human employees with their diverse abilities, wants, and needs, must be considered. Due to a growing number of product variants, shorter lead times, and global supply chains, planning and launching production systems can be seen as a competitive advantage. Consequently, managing the period of production system ramp-up, which is characterized by high production demand but low production control, becomes increasingly important. To handle the increasing complexity and uncertainty in this special phase, human decision makers must be adequately supported by an appropriate leadership style. In this paper, the Lean Leadership approach will be identified to best meet the special requirements of the sociotechnical production system ramp-up phase. The results of a mixed-methods data collection, which has been conducted in commercial vehicle industry, help to better manage complex product launches in the future.
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