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Lean management (LM) is a managerial approach for improving processes based on a complex system of interrelated socio-technical practices. Recently, debate has centered on the role of organizational culture (OC) in LM. This paper aims to contribute to this debate by examining whether plants that successfully implement LM are characterized by a specific OC profile and extensively adopt soft LM practices. Data were analyzed from the High Performance Manufacturing (HPM) project dataset using a multi-group approach. The results revealed that a specific OC profile characterizes successful lean plants; in particular, when compared to unsuccessful lean plants, they show a higher institutional collectivism, future orientation, a humane orientation, and a lower level of assertiveness. While a high level of institutional collectivism, future orientation, and humane orientation are common features of high performers in …