Abstract
PurposeThis study aims to empirically investigate the effects of both soft and hard quality management (QM) on innovation and organizational performance. It also examines the mediating role of hard QM, administrative innovation and technical innovation on the relationship between soft QM and organizational performance in higher education (HE).Design/methodology/approachThe approach of this study is quantitative. The data used to test the hypotheses were obtained through online questionnaire sent to the academic staff of public universities in Naples (Italy). The hypothesized relationships are tested with data collected from 356 respondents by using the partial least squares structural equation modeling technique (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe results show that quality practices improve innovation and organizational performance, while innovation positively impacts organizational performance. The findings also indicate that soft QM affects organizational performance directly and indirectly through hard QM. Hard QM and innovation show a partial sequential mediating effect on soft QM-performance relationshipPractical implicationsIn order to implement quality management properly in HE, directors need to recognize the different roles that soft and hard QM can have on innovation and organizational performance. It is important that higher education institutions (HEIs) allocate resources to establish both types of QM practices to achieve the effectiveness of the whole QM system.Originality/valueDespite the existence of numerous studies on the relationship between QM, innovation and organizational performance in manufacturing and services, studies conducted in higher education are still few. This is one of the earliest studies that adopt the multidimensional approach of QM in HE which could help directors understand the interdependencies and different roles of soft and hard quality practices.
Highlights
Higher education institutions (HEIs) face various challenges coming out of global competition, rapid education technological changes and in increasing pressure on cost control and financing (Laurett and Mendes, 2019)
The relationship between quality management (QM) practices, organizational performance and innovation have been studied in manufacturing firms (Sahoo, 2019, Zeng et al, 2015; Feng et al, 2006); only a few studies focus on these relationships in service companies (Mehta et al, 2014; Segarra-Cipres et al, 2017), and even fewer are addressing them in higher education (HE) (Tarı and Dick, 2016)
This result is consistent with the results of Hoang et al (2006), Kim et al( 2012), Zeng et al (2015), Escrig-Tena et al( 2018) and Khan and Naeem, (2018) which adopt the multidimensional approach of QM in studying innovation
Summary
Higher education institutions (HEIs) face various challenges coming out of global competition, rapid education technological changes and in increasing pressure on cost control and financing (Laurett and Mendes, 2019). These organizations have to meet their stakeholders’ expectations while increasing their efficiency (Dumond and Johnson, 2013), driving them to adopt several strategies (TQM, knowledge management and innovation) already successfully used in other fields (Chen et al, 2009), such as an effective implementation of quality management practices (Iqbal et al, 2018). Several authors highlighted the need to extend the multidimensional approach to other sectors to better understand its effects (Zeng et al, 2015; Ershadi et al, 2019)
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