Applications of learning curves in production and operations management: A systematic literature review

Abstract The occurrence and characteristics of human learning and forgetting are extensively researched in many fields. Thus, the literature on learning curves is abundant. Within production and operations management, learning curves can describe the performance improvement of workers due to repetitions or experience, which makes them a useful tool for managerial decision making. Human learning is very relevant to manufacturing firms that are labor-intensive, especially where labor is costly. Also, technology and organization learning frequently occur in many organizations, even when manufacturing is not labor-intensive. It is not surprising, therefore, that, despite the plethora of prior work in learning curves, research in this important area continues to appear in the production and operations management literature. A comprehensive, systematic review of the literature, however, has never been conducted. This article aims at giving a general overview of learning curves in production and operations management. It maps this specific research area, synthesizes its research findings, highlights its key application areas and explores future research directions. This work achieves this goal by presenting the results of a systematic literature review on the applications of learning curves in production and operations management. First, a framework that includes typical learning curve models is developed. The fundamental characteristics of learning curves and their applications in production and operations management are then identified. This framework is used to categorize the literature. This study also presents a discussion of the most important and informative articles in each of the major categories, as well as highlighting future research opportunities.