Low-Cost Management Consulting and Firm Productivity

Last registered on June 27, 2019
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Low-Cost Management Consulting and Firm Productivity
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003603
Initial registration date
December 16, 2018

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
December 20, 2018, 10:07 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
June 27, 2019, 1:48 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
Brazil
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Daniel Da Mata
Affiliation
Sao Paulo School of Economics - FGV
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Lucas Mation
PI Affiliation
Institute for Applied Economic Research - IPEA
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2018-07-23
End date
2020-06-30
Keywords
Firms & Productivity, Labor
Additional Keywords
Lean Manufacturing, Management Practices.
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
We evaluate the impacts of a low-cost lean manufacturing consulting program aimed at optimizing plant-floor production. The Brazil More Productive is a national-level program that subsidizes consulting services to small and medium firms. We are conducting a randomized phase-in trial to investigate the impacts of this program on productivity. We will also document changes in management practices, owners/managers' perception of their production environment, and reasons for not having adopted these practices before the intervention.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Da Mata, Daniel and Lucas Mation. 2019. "Low-Cost Management Consulting and Firm Productivity." AEA RCT Registry. June 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3603-2.0
Former Citation
Da Mata, Daniel and Lucas Mation. 2019. "Low-Cost Management Consulting and Firm Productivity." AEA RCT Registry. June 27. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3603/history/48782
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This trial investigates the impact of a lean manufacturing consulting intervention on small and medium firms in Brazil. The program, called Brazil More Productive (BmP), offers 120 hours of in-house consulting with a lean manufacturing specialist over a 2-3 months period. After constructing a timed workflow of the production process of the main product of the firm, the specialist suggests series of (low-cost) improvements and aids the firm in implementing those plant-floor improvements. The program costs 18,000 BRL (circa 4,500 USD), of which the firm pays 3,000 BRL and the federal government subsidizes the rest.
Intervention Start Date
2018-09-13
Intervention End Date
2018-12-18

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Total factor productivity (TPF) and labor productivity, Lean Manufacturing maturity index, Persistence of management practices
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Production Engineering Outcomes: Lead time, Value added time, Non value added time, Share of value added time, Production potential
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Share of value added time = Value added time / Lead time

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We are conducting a phase-in trial with 576 firms from eight states in Brazil. Firms will be randomly allocated into two treatment periods.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization based on the results of a public lottery. Lottery numbers done in office by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Firm
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
576 firms
Sample size: planned number of observations
576 firms
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
288 firms receiving the lean manufacturing consultancy and 288 firms control
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Getulio Vargas Foundation - CEPH/FGV
IRB Approval Date
2018-11-06
IRB Approval Number
104/2018
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials