Six Sigma was introduced as a quality management tool at Motorola in the 1980s. Since then, leading U.S. companies have gained significant financial and non-financial benefits/results from the implementation of Six Sigma projects. Despite Six Sigma popularity, some companies have failed to gain quantifiable net financial benefits/results from Six Sigma implementation. In the process of Six Sigma implementation, vital components are critical factors and key ingredients for the success of Six

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... a projects because if these vital components do not exist, Six Sigma projects have little chance of success. Thus, this paper identifies most influencing and least influencing vital components. The results are generated from a survey conducted in U.S. Fortune 500 companies employing descriptive statistics. Based on the data analysis, "leadership commitment to Six Sigma" was the most influencing vital component and "overall, training on Six Sigma to reduce employee turnover" was the least influencing vital component.