Cultural influences on total quality management adoption in Chinese enterprises: An empirical study

Abstract

Many quality experts have asserted that the development of a quality culture is the prerequisite for an effective organization. Some recent studies have also advocated that an organization could achieve better performance and higher efficiency through establishing right quality culture. This paper reviews the key concepts underlying corporate culture and the total quality management (TQM) philosophy, and discusses the relationship between cultural values and TQM practices in Chinese enterprises. Key findings of an empirical study are presented, addressing the cultural influences on employee involvement (EI) and TQM practices in firms in Hong Kong and China. The results suggested that there was no strong evidence to verify the influences of Chinese culture values on the determination of TQM adoption in the organizations studied. The EI/TQM efforts would facilitate organizational change and performance improvement, but the results are not relied on whether separate or co-ordinated/integrated programme(s) are being used. Successful adoption of EI/TQM practices lies largely on the management of cultural dynamics and organizational complexities in Chinese enterprises. Finally, the paper advocates a pressing need for organizations to manage cultural influences and encourage TQM initiatives in order to maintain a competitive edge over their rivals.