Abstract
Previous studies reported mixed and ambiguous results of the relationship between TQM practices and performances. This study investigated impacts of TQM practices on various performance measures as well as the reasons and the barriers of the TQM practices of firms in Turkey. We used a cross-sectional survey methodology in this study, and the unit of the sample was at the plant level. The sample was selected from the member firms to Turkish Quality Association and the firms located in the Kocaeli-Gebze Organized Industrial Zone. We obtained 242 usable questionnaires, with a satisfactory response rate of 48.4 percent. We conducted exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis. This study has shown that different TQM practices significantly affect different performance outcomes. Results revealed that primary obstacles that the firms in Turkey face were lack of employee involvement, awareness and commitment of the employees, inappropriate firm structure, and lack of the resources. It is recommended that firms should continue implement TQM with all variables to improve performance. Firms should improve employees’ involvement/commitment/awareness to TQM, enhance firm structure, and provide resources to overcome the barriers that prevent effective implementation of TQM practices.
Highlights
Total quality management (TQM) is a firm-wide management philosophy of continuously improving the quality of the products/services/processes by focusing on the customers’ needs and expectations to enhance customer satisfaction and firm performance
Thirty-one items for the TQM practices and 27 items for the performance measures remained after exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability analysis
All regression models are significant (P < 0.01) and TQM index is significantly and positively related to performance. This shows that TQM practices, in general, improve firm performance
Summary
Total quality management (TQM) is a firm-wide management philosophy of continuously improving the quality of the products/services/processes by focusing on the customers’ needs and expectations to enhance customer satisfaction and firm performance. There are mixed results about the relationship between total quality management practices and performance [1–3]. The reasons of the mixed results can be as follows. (1) The previous studies used different methods, different TQM variables, and different performance measures in their research models. (3) The barriers to TQM practices might have caused to the mixed results in different studies. Research with appropriate analytical methodologies and measuring tools can significantly contribute to investigating work on TQM which analyzed reasons of the relationship between TQM practices and performance.
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