Abstract
PurposeThis study examines whether certification improves the dimensions of total quality management (TQM) and whether the impact of certification is similar across companies of different sizes and industries. The benefits of certification for companies have been widely discussed in recent years. The general debate has been partly marked by the dispute about whether companies will benefit more from certification or the implementation of TQM. This debate has led to numerous studies on the benefits of certification; however, few studies simultaneously have examined traditional TQM issues and the requirements of the new quality standard, ISO 9001: 2015, as well as the updated European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) criteria.Design/methodology/approachThis study was conducted via a survey of Finnish SMEs and covered both industrial and service companies. The study comprehensively compared industrial companies with service companies and small companies with medium-sized companies.FindingsIn industrial and small enterprises, certification clearly has a positive effect on the dimensions of TQM, but a similar effect was not observed in medium-sized enterprises or in the service sector.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies to examine the effect of certification on TQM in different types of SMEs while simultaneously considering EFQM and ISO 9001:2015 in Finland. The significant originality of this research lies in the formation of a comprehensive research framework for the dimensions of TQM.
Highlights
Numerous studies in the field of total quality management (TQM) practices have indicated a positive effect of these practices on the performance of companies (Ahire et al, 1996; Adebanjo and Kehoe, 1999; Kaynak, 2003; Hanson and Eriksson, 2002; Sadikoglu and Zehir, 2010; Al-Dujaili, 2013)
This study examines whether certification improves TQM dimensions and whether certification’s impact is similar across companies of different sizes and industries
This study examined whether certification improved the level of expanded TQM dimensions and whether the impact of certification was similar across companies of different sizes and industries
Summary
Numerous studies in the field of total quality management (TQM) practices have indicated a positive effect of these practices on the performance of companies (Ahire et al, 1996; Adebanjo and Kehoe, 1999; Kaynak, 2003; Hanson and Eriksson, 2002; Sadikoglu and Zehir, 2010; Al-Dujaili, 2013). Despite the continuous development of TQM research and the abundant literature in the field of TQM practices, the concept of TQM has not been defined in detail and compared with other performance-related procedures. For this reason, the latest research trends concerning quality management have focused on defining the paradigms and perspectives of TQM in order to intensify the academic debate and open new research lines to clarify the theoretical foundations of quality management and contextualize the findings obtained (Calvo-Mora et al, 2020; van Kemenade and Hardjono, 2019). The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
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