Abstract
Industry programs have been a method of lifting the competence of especially Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) that otherwise would not be interested or could not afford such efforts. In this paper we present a case study of four Norwegian SMEs that participated in a Lean Production based industry program for Small and Medium sized Businesses in Norway. The aim of the program is to lift the productivity level of the participating companies through teaching and coaching lean production tools, methods, and leadership ideals. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews and documents obtained from the companies with the intent of discovering how and if the companies successfully applied the content of the program and the effects of the program on company performance. The companies that participated in this study was part of the first round of the program and had all gone through the whole program, as such the study is retrospective. It was found that companies experienced some positive results from the program but struggled to spread the learning from the program to other parts of the business, and to continue its improvement journey once the program had ended.