Designing and Validating the Lean Governance Model in Government Governance

Abstract
The main goal of the current research is to design and validate the lean government model in government governance in Iran. In terms of paradigms, the present research is in the exploration phase of the interpretive model and in the test phase of the proof-oriented model, in terms of general pragmatism, and in terms of audience studies. The research sample in the qualitative phase of the academic field includes university professors, academic staff members and public sector managers, and a total of 15 experts were interviewed to collect qualitative data. The research approach is mixed and the strategy used is theme analysis using MAXQDA software. A research questionnaire was developed to collect quantitative data in accordance with exploratory factor analysis. In the quantitative section, 199 people were examined as the final sample of the research using G power sample size software at the alpha level of 0.1 and test power of 0.85%. The path analysis test of the exploratory model was also examined according to the variance-based structural equation modeling algorithm using SPSS, 24 and Smart:PLS, 3 software. The research results showed that 33 indicators and 7 predictors (lean government services, lean service management, lean performance improvement, platform-based governance, lean system design and lean government) were identified for this purpose.
Introduction
The current global economic landscape, marked by a significant decline in growth from 6.1% in 2021 to 3.6% in 2022 (IMF, 2022), necessitates a proactive, strategic shift in governmental operations, consistent with the actor-centered institutionalism approach. In response to escalating economic and social crises, governments are compelled to adopt new operational models (May, 2022; Puchet, 2022). The Lean Government concept has emerged as a crucial, technology-driven paradigm to meet this need. It represents an evolution beyond traditional models like e-government, focusing on optimizing activities, enhancing efficiency, and eliminating waste and costs to improve the value stream of public services (Bain, 1937; Schlein, 2007; Thompson & Venters, 2021; Haruna et al., 2019). This approach redefines the government's role from "rowing" to "steering" (Noru, 2020), acting as a coordinator to build trust and strengthen citizen relations through information sharing and process simplification (Caudle, 2018; Janssen & Estevez, 2013; Loduijkszak, 2018).
Despite its demonstrated success in developed nations, Lean Government remains a novel and underexplored academic construct, facing significant research gaps. A review of major databases indicates limited scholarly output, with only a small number of specific articles indexed on the subject (Scopus data, 1996-2022), highlighting a critical need to enrich its theoretical foundations. The existing body of knowledge is further limited by a scarcity of empirical research and practical frameworks, especially concerning its application in developing countries. This lack of research that accounts for unique cultural, environmental, and political-economic contexts presents a substantial challenge to localizing and effectively implementing Lean Government methodologies.
This study is thus motivated by both a theoretical imperative and a pressing practical need. In nations like Iran, characterized by high bureaucracy, inefficiency, and economic pressures, the core focus of Lean Government—doing more with fewer resources—offers a vital solution to current public administration challenges. By employing a mixed and exploratory approach, the research aims to address the identified theoretical gaps while providing policymakers and public administration leaders with a refined, context-specific model for implementation. The central goal is to define the operational framework, culminating in the research question: "What is themodel of Lean Government in governmental governance?"
Materials and Methods
The research operates under pragmatist philosophical assumptions, employing a mixed-methods approach that is interpretive during the model discovery phase and positivist during the model testing phase. The core analytical techniques used were Thematic Analysis (based on Clarke's (2006) method) and Quantitative Sensitivity Analysis.The study followed two main stages. The qualitative phase utilized an in-depth literature review and in-depth interviews with a purposeful sample of 20 experts (university faculty and senior government managers). Data were managed using Maxqda software to extract sub-themes (model indicators) and main themes (main research variables) through an iterative coding process.The quantitative phase focused on model testing. Data were collected via random sampling from a statistical population of public sector managers within a government ministry. The appropriate sample size for this phase was determined using G-POWER specialized software.The qualitative validity was assessed based on Creswell's (2007) perspectives, employing three methods: participant viewpoint matching (corrective coding after expert review), colleague review (achieving over 80% coding agreement among three experts), and participatory validity (incorporating participant input during the coding process).For quantitative analysis, the measurement instrument's content validity was confirmed using the Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and Content Validity Index (CVI). Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) confirmed the sample adequacy (Bartlett's Sig <0.05) and the variables' unidimensionality, with all 7 variables showing coefficients greater than 0.7. Given the newly discovered nature of the model, variance-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques were used for validation, following Hair's (2009) recommendation. Finally, the main themes were transformed into the final Lean Government model using sensitivity analysis.
Discussion and Results
The findings of the present study can be of scientific value in two respects. Firstly, given that Lean Government is a novel concept, exploratory research can contribute to its theoretical enrichment. Secondly, since the present study is based on the natural setting of the research and the localization of conducted studies, its results can have practical relevance in the governmental and governance sectors of Iran. The reason for this relates to the current state of the government institution. In the present circumstances, the government in Iran faces numerous challenges, including issues such as administrative corruption, politicization of bureaucracy, inefficiency, reduction of financial resources, etc. These factors have, on the one hand, placed the government institution in a disorganized state and, on the other hand, led to citizen dissatisfaction, as they have limited the provision of public services by the government. Consequently, although the fifth, sixth, and seventh development plans have emphasized technology-driven approaches such as e-government, it should be noted that e-government not only has weaknesses but is also considered a traditional wave in the world today. Therefore, Lean Government, as a new and efficient method, can fill this practical gap in government organizations and facilitate improvements in work processes, the provision of public services, and government efficiency. Lean Government increases the internal capacity of government organizations to accomplish more tasks without adding personnel, thus significantly contributing to government downsizing policies. Furthermore, Lean Government can reduce the costs of providing public services and lead to citizen satisfaction. Lean Government increasingly reduces the average time for completing tasks, thereby leading to the efficiency enhancement of government organizations. Therefore, the results of comparative studies on the application of Lean Government indicate that the lean idea has relevance in public domains, including legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Consequently, Lean Government plays a role in achieving higher quality, faster, and more transparent public services.
Conclusion
The present study aimed to design a native model for the implementation of Lean Government in Iranian governmental organizations. The output of the qualitative data analysis, in line with the identification of key indicators, reveals the extraction of 33 sub-theme codes. Furthermore, in the subsequent step, the identified codes were categorized into 7 general concepts and main themes after conducting confirmatory factor analysis. Therefore, based on path analysis for developing the relationships of the research model, concepts such as platform-based governance, lean service management, and the design of lean systems were discovered as predictors of Lean Government. Additionally, factors such as lean government services, lean performance improvement, and citizen satisfaction constitute the consequences of Lean Government implementation in governmental organizations. Moreover, the positivist validation of the model relationships indicates that the discovered theory is significant. Furthermore, the structural model in the significant state shows that the significance coefficient of all discovered relationships is outside the range of (-1.96 and 1.96), thus confirming the discovered theories.