Barriers to the Success of Total Quality Management Implementation in Vietnam's Textile and Garment Companies

Abstract

Vietnam is classified as one of the five largest textile and garment exporters in the world. With its ambition to engage more effectively in the global textile and garment supply chains, Vietnam's textile and garment enterprises have been implementing total quality management (TQM) programs in order to improve their product and service quality. However, many of Vietnam's textile and garment enterprises are facing barriers to successful TQM implementation. The objective of this study is to empirically examine these barriers to TQM faced by Vietnam's textile and garment enterprises and to compare the results with previous studies conducted with U.S. and Mexican businesses. The results of this study indicate five barriers to Vietnam's textile and garment enterprises' successful TQM implementation. Among these five barriers, the common barrier shared by Vietnamese, US and Mexican businesses is that employees are resistant to change. Managerial implications and future research directions are discussed.