Total Quality Management Literature Research Articles

The mediation role of innovation in the relationship between total quality management and performance of small and medium scale enterprises

PurposeThis study examined the mediation-moderation role of innovation and market dynamism in the association between total quality management (TQM) practices and the performance of small and medium-scale enterprises' (SMEs') performance with empirical evidence from sub-Saharan Africa.Design/methodology/approachUsing a questionnaire, the research model developed was tested with responses from 203 owners and managers of SMEs in Ghana. The analyses were done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Smart Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe innovation initiatives partially and fully mediated the relationship between TQM practices and the performance of SMEs. Also, the indirect effect of TQM practices of SMEs on performance through innovation initiatives was negatively moderated by market dynamism.Practical implicationsThe study contributes to the TQM literature by validating the indirect and direct relationship between TQM practices and performance in the context of SMEs in a developing region.Originality/valueThis paper presents a novel understanding of the relationship between TQM and SMEs in developing regions of the world. The paper serves as a guide for SME owners and managers to improve the performance of their organizations through TQM practices.

An instrument for studying TQM implementation in primary education: development and empirical investigation

PurposePrimary education (PE) forms the foundation of high-quality education systems, but it is often underestimated. This paper aims to develop and empirically validate a measurement instrument to study the current stage of total quality management (TQM) implementation in PE.Design/methodology/approachThis study developed a seven-dimensional and a 37-item instrument administered to education professionals at public PE institutions in Greece to determine the current stage of TQM implementation at their institution; 2,088 responses were received in total. Principal component analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were adopted to test the research instrument.FindingsThe findings supported the validity and reliability of the instrument and demonstrated that the proposed measures represent actual dimensions that can be used to explore the implementation of TQM in PE. Results also showed that the respondents rated highly the positive impact that TQM can have on their schools, although nonhuman resources have been found inadequate and problematic.Practical implicationsThe field of TQM in PE lacks empirical evidence; this paper provides deep insight into the elements that demonstrate the perception and status of TQM implementation and can support quality implementation plans.Originality/valueThis study adds value to the TQM literature by developing an instrument for use in PE educational institutions and validating it in a real environment. Practitioners and researchers are thus supplied with the means to facilitate TQM practices, identify weaknesses and opportunities and contribute to social empowerment.

Managing TQM's soft side: an explorative study of social care multiservice organizations

PurposeThis paper explores total quality management (TQM) soft domain efficacy in social care organizations to determine the extent to which an organization's project success may stem from soft TQM critical success factors (CSFs).Design/methodology/approachNon-structured interviews were conducted with 16 managers overseeing the prosthetic device regeneration project of the Italian local health unit (located in Salerno) to explore which soft factors could contribute to the success of a social care multifunctional organization.FindingsOrganizations' handling of certain projects, such as pivoting on soft TQM issues, may allow them to be configured as multiservice organizations. Therefore, a conceptual model of a multiservice social care organization is proposed.Practical implicationsFrom a managerial perspective, this study presents an interesting success case of a multiservice social care organization with a total annual expenditure of €20 million on prosthetic assistance. Preliminary data show a 13% reduction in public expenditure for Salerno's local health unit via a refurbishment project.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the soft TQM literature debate: although Italian local health professionals appear aware of soft TQM issues' implementation and consciously apply them in their organization and projects, this occurs more with specific CSFs emerging from the literature. Therefore, this article paves the way for further quantitative and theoretical investigations on the adoption of TQM soft issues in social care organizations' performance measurement.

Exploring Factors Influencing Academic Staff Attitude towards the Implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) in Higher Education

This study aims to explore factors that influence attitudes towards implementing TQM among the academic staff in one of the Malaysian higher education institutions. A total of 270 questionnaires were distributed among academic staff at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), and a total of 209 questionnaires were completed. The method that best fits with the objective of this research is exploratory factor analysis. The results showed that three factors influenced the attitude of the IIUM academic staff on the execution of TQM principles. The findings of this research may stimulate other institutions to apply TQM principles in education and how TQM can be implemented in higher education. Senior-level management should take the opportunity to work together with the academic staff to boost the learning process by providing them with a platform to voice their points of view and suggestions. This paper contributes to the TQM literature and provides an important insight into current knowledge. The findings allow for implications to be made for both top management and policymakers. Such studies are needed to increase awareness and examine TQM's applicability in higher education.

Quality Management Practices and Inter-Organizational Project Performance: Moderating Effects of Inter-Organizational Communication, Relationship, and Process Conflicts in Healthcare

The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the relationship between quality management practices (QMP) and inter-organizational project performance (IPP), as well as the moderating effects of inter-organizational communication (ICOM), relationship, and process conflicts in Pakistan’s-government healthcare organizations (NGOs) and public healthcare organizations. We developed a hypothetical model based on contingency theory. Using a self-administered questionnaire, the empirical data was collected from 296 respondents from NGOs and public healthcare in Pakistan between March and November 2019. SmartPLS 3.3.9 was used to apply structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings show that QMP significantly impacts IPP in healthcare inter-organizational collaborative projects. ICOM and process conflict significantly moderate the impact of QMP on IPP. In contrast, relationship conflict does not affect IPP. This study has practical implications for healthcare NGOs and public healthcare organizations that want to improve the performance of their projects by implementing QMP in their projects. This study added to the total quality management literature by clearly understanding QMP and its relationship to IPP.

Total quality management as driver for internationalization: a case study of a small family firm

PurposeThis study investigates the relationship between Total Quality Management (TQM) and internationalization in small family firms, focusing on the role that the dimensions of TQM may have as strategic resources to implement successful internationalization strategies.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on the Resource-Based View (RBV), the study is based on a single case study, and data were gathered through in-depth interviews with the family owner-manager.FindingsFindings show that small family businesses that aim to operate in international markets have to invest constant attention toward TQM by developing strategies able to achieve excellence. More in detail, for small and medium family firms, TQM represents a driver to internationalize. Therefore, family-owned managers sustain that internationalization success depends on the increasing attention exhibited toward the following dimensions of quality, specifically on three main pillars: relationships, professionalization and long-term vision, which appear to be strategic resources in international markets. An interpretive model is proposed with a set of propositions.Research limitations/implicationsScholarly implications are threefold. First, findings contribute to the RBV theory by introducing the long-term vision as a strategic resource able to activate a loop between TQM and internationalization success. Second, results contribute to TQM literature, highlighting that it represents a driver to internationalize, and following a long-term perspective, its enhancement is stimulated by internationalization. Third, findings contribute to family business studies, underlining the relevance done of owners on professionalization as a strategic resource to ensure excellence and obtain success in overseas markets. The main drawback refers to the fact that results stemmed from one single case study. Further studies could deepen the analysis on multiple cases.Practical implicationsThe proposed case study represents a best practice and can stimulate other entrepreneurs and consultants to invest in TQM to thrive internationalization strategies.Originality/valueThe current study, elucidating that TQM is the driver to stimulate family business internationalization, proposes an interpretive model to study TQM and internationalization in small and medium family firms.

From quality control to TQM, service quality and service sciences: a 30-year review of TQM literature

PurposeThis paper aims to review total quality management (TQM) literature in the past three decades to identify the quality related key terms, to analyse their linkage among the identified key terms and their developmental trends.Design/methodology/approachBibliometric and statistical methods are used to analyse article titles published in the Total Quality Management and Business Excellence journal during 1990–2019. The current research is based on a search from the ProQuest academic database and the journal’s website, resulting in 2,452 articles collected. The VOSviewer and Microsoft Excel were then used for the analyses.FindingsA total of 52 key terms were extracted from the journal’s 2,452 article titles, the top three key terms in terms of occurrences were “quality,” “total quality management” and “service quality.” Five themes were then proposed from clustering the 52 key terms: “frameworks/models,” “essentials/enablers,” “methods/techniques,” “culture/characteristics” and “effects/results.” Trend analyses were also conducted regarding the five themes in an attempt to highlight the patterns of research publications from 1990 to 2019. It is found that the research publications for “essentials/enablers,” “methods and techniques” and “effects/results” have steadily increased during the analysis period, while “frameworks/models” and “culture/characteristic” have slightly decreased. These insights provide implication for the historical evolution of quality from “quality control,” “total quality management” and “service quality,” combining with the development of “service sciences.”Originality/valueThis paper highlights the concept of quality since its meaning has changed and evolved over time from quality control, TQM to service quality. And it is emerging in the present and future development of service sciences because of both of TQM and service sciences having the same nature of multidisciplinary background and characteristics. Also the authors can conclude that quality and service sciences are in fact two sides of the same coin because both of them having the same duality of “tangible-intangible” and “physical-virtual” faces which are the important topics that TQM should focus on.

Evaluation of Total Quality Management using MCDM Method

To "develop and create a sustainable climate in which employees consistently enhance their ability to offer products and services that fulfill their needs," total quality management (TQM) entails efforts on the part of the entire business. The literature claims that several components make up quality management, including crucial elements, tools, methodologies, and procedures. The objective is this thesis to define Total Quality Management (TQM) and make managers aware of its elements, facilitating the implementation of quality control. Total quality management (TQM) has recently taken up as a social movement in the US. This analysis revisits the movement's original texts to evaluate its coherence, uniqueness, and probable persistence, as well as its provocative management philosophy. We find various knowledge gaps regarding TQM processes and results and examine connections between TQM principles and behavioral science understanding of human motivation, learning, and societal change. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a method of management that focuses on long-term success through customer satisfaction. In a TQM initiative, every employee of an organization participates in improving their workplace processes, products, and services. Many businesses have concentrated on total quality management (TQM) over the past ten years as a way to increase earnings, market share, and competitiveness. An attempt is made to review the condition of the TQM literature in this essay. Literature is categorized based on the article's content and procedural difficulties. The literature uses conceptual, descriptive, empirical, cross-sectional, and longitudinal techniques as its methodologies. Weighted Total Product Assessment (WASPAS) analysis used the results to provide a must read decision makers with these Employee relations, training, quality data and reporting, Supplier quality management, Quality performance. Employee relations, training, quality data and reporting, Supplier quality management, Quality performance. Evaluation parameters of Area of manufacturing: Interrater reliability, Group 1 (internal consistency), Group 2 (internal consistency).Training has the highest rank whereas Quality performance has the lowest rank.

The interplay of entrepreneurial orientation, total quality management, and financial performance

This study strives to explore the nexus between entrepreneurial orientation (EO), total quality management (TQM), competitive intensity (CI) and firm performance in the context of an emerging laggard economy in the South-Eastern European region. Moreover, the present study aims to examine the effect of each dimension of EO (innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking) on the TQM and firm performance. The proposed conceptual model and research hypotheses were tested through structural equation modelling (SEM). Our results show that TQM partially mediates the relationship between EO and firm performance and that as the intensity of competition increases, the direct effect of EO on firm performance becomes stronger. Thus, this study contributes to the EO and TQM literature by arguing that EO as a strategic orientation is positively related to firm performance outcomes through the mechanism of TQM practices. Moreover, this study adds to the current literature by revealing that the effectiveness of the synergetic effect of EO and TQM of firm performance outcomes is contingent on the market environment conditions (i.e. competitive intensity). Regarding the relative importance of EO dimensions, findings indicate that innovativeness and proactiveness are vital pillars of organisational processes aimed at developing TQM practices to enhance firm performance outcomes.

Have the Reports of TQM’s Death Been Greatly Exaggerated? A Re-Examination of the Concept’s Historical Popularity Trajectory

There is a vast literature on Total Quality Management (TQM), one of the most influential management concepts introduced during the twentieth century. In the TQM literature, there are multiple conflicting views on TQM’s historical popularity trajectory. In the past, commentators have debated whether TQM represents a lasting trend, or instead should be considered a more short-lived management fad or fashion. Since the 1990s, skeptics have speculated about the imminent fall, death, and burial of TQM, and even delivered eulogies. However, others claim that the level of interest has picked back up and that TQM is alive and well. Therefore, this paper attempts to synthesize and reconcile these differing views on the long-term trajectory of TQM and provide an updated picture and status report, taking into account the latest findings and developments in research and practice. The evidence reviewed in this paper suggests that, even though TQM has become much less noticeable in public management discourse compared to the heydays of the 1980s and 1990s, the concept has persisted and even to this day remains widely used by organizations worldwide.

Critical Success Factors Affecting the Implementation of TQM in Public Hospitals: A Case Study in UAE Hospitals -

The implementation of quality management strategies is a global phenomenon, particularly in organizations in developing countries, who have used different quality management systems to improve the quality of their services and to satisfy their customers. In the healthcare sector, the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy can help to enhance patient safety and help healthcare organizations improve performance and adopt cost-effective management practices. This research paper aims to identify and measure the Critical Successful Factors (CSFs) that affecting the implementation of TQM in hospitals. A literature review on TQM was examined to identify the CSFs for its implementation in healthcare between 2010 and 2020. In addition, this study employed quantitative methods to achieve its research objectives. A questionnaire was designed to gather empirical data from senior staff in hospitals adopting a self-administered technique to measure the CSFs that affecting TQM implementation. Of the 600 questionnaires circulated in two public hospitals in Dubai, 356 questionnaires were analyzed, producing a response rate of 59.3%. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were applied to analyse the data employing central tendency (Mean), measures of dispersion (Standard Deviation) and Principle Component Analyses (PCA). The findings in this study revealed that an effective TQM implementation in hospitals require abundant top management commitment, employee involvement, training and education, recognition and reward, process management, strategic planning, information analysis, organization culture, continuous improvement, and customer focus. The results in this study further indicated that among the ten TQM implementation CSFs, top management commitment and customer focus were found to be the most CSFs affecting the implementation of TQM in hospitals with highest mean value of 4.8 and 4.7, respectively. This study has contributed to the existing TQM literature concerning the CSFs affecting the implementation of TQM in the healthcare context, particularly in hospitals. In addition, the findings of this research paper provide vital knowledge to hospital managers with a precious understanding of the factors that enable TQM implementation in hospitals.

The Impact of Total Quality Management on Corporate Performance in Malaysian Public Listed Companies

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a holistic approach that focuses on meeting needs and expectation of customers through the involvement of all organizational functions and individuals for continued improvement. It is widely accepted as a mean of sustaining competitive advantage. However, the review of performance-related TQM literature shows that researchers have different approaches in conceptualization of performance measures and inconclusive about the positive impact of TQM on corporate performance. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of TQM practices on corporate performance, both financial and nonfinancial performance. The empirical data had been drawn from 132 human resource managers in Malaysian public listed companies and analysed using the multiple regression analysis. Finding of this study revealed that TQM has a positive impact on corporate performance across five measure practices, which are, top management leadership, human resource management, customer focus, strategic planning, and information and process management. The major implication of the finding is that the positive impact of TQM on corporate performance is not limited only to Malaysia manufacturing companies, but also be equally achieved across sectors in Malaysia public listed companies.

The Mediating Effect of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Between Total Quality Management (TQM) and Business Performance

Total quality management (TQM) concepts are paramount importance for every industry in the pursuit of competitiveness in the global market. However, based on previous TQM literature reported that ambiguous or mixed relationship between TQM and business performance lead to inconsistent results. Furthermore, there lack of study of Total preventive maintenance (TPM) as mediator in previous works. Therefore, it is important to obtain successful TQM paradigm. TPM acted as a prominent paradigm to improve the manufacturing performance to gain further competitive advantage. Hence, the purpose of this study is to propose research and conceptual framework model of TQM practices in relation to business performance with mediator effect of TPM. The developed model for further study will be tested and validate by collecting primary data. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach will be used for hypotheses testing and determine the relationship of mediators effect in TQM practices and business performance.

TQM as business strategy: a meta-analysis review

There is no doubt in the fact that organisations worldwide are currently in the era of total quality management (TQM), but whether it is making a real impact on these organisations' bottom-line remains a much-debated topic in both academic and management forums. In this direction, the study conducted a meta-analytical investigation of the association of TQM practices with firm's performance from the TQM literature by adopting the heuristic approach (Hunter and Schmidt, 1990). The study also examined the role of moderating factors in influencing this association. For the meta-analytical review, 12 empirical studies that had examined the link between TQM practices and firm's performance were sampled. The study adopted the 'random-effects' model using weighted mean of raw correlation coefficient as a measure of the size of the effect. The results showed the existence of association between the TQM practices and the firm's performance and existence of moderators impacting this association.

A Study on the Total Quality Management (TQM) Practices and its Association with Production Workers in Malaysia

Purpose – The purpose this paper is to investigate the multi-dimensionality of total quality management (TQM) practices and its relationship with production workers’ job satisfaction in the Malaysian electrical and electronics (E&E) industry context. Design/methodology/approach – Data for this study were collected using a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed to 100 production workers in the three major E&E organizations in Malaysia. The correlation and multiple regression analyses were applied to test the theoretical model and the relationship between TQM practices and job satisfaction. The results are based on regression analysis and equation modelling by using SPSS software. Findings – The results revealed that not all TQM practices enhanced production workers’ job satisfaction. Only organization culture and teamwork showed a positive relationship with the production workers’ job satisfaction. It was found that when teamwork was perceived as a dominant TQM practice, improvement in production workers’ job satisfaction levels was significant. Practical Implications – The findings prescribed potential implications for top management to review their TQM dimensions, consistent with the training needs of the employees within the organization. Hence, production workers will be more likely to perform better and to feel a higher level of satisfaction towards the organizations. Originality/value – The study has contributed in advancing the TQM literature with a better understanding of the multi-dimensionality of TQM practices and its association with production workers’ job satisfaction that would facilitate more quality management research in developing countries

Spiritual Leadership and its Contribution to Soft Dimensions of Total Quality Management – Relevance to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India

Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been the backbone of Indian economy. This is because of their employment potential at low capital cost and also the ability to respond faster to unexpected development in the field of activity. In India, MSMEs contribute nearly 8% of the country’s GDP, 45% of the manufacturing output and 40% of the exports. But, over the past few years their share in GDP, manufacturing output and exports has been slowly declining. Among the various reasons for this downtrend, process inefficiencies have been identified as a major cause of concern and there is a felt need to improve on the same. The philosophy of Total Quality Management (TQM) which governs the process management and control has evolved gradually since evolution. Some of these Quality philosophies like Kaizen, Confucianism and Tao etc. based Spirituality practiced at workplace have come to stay in present day business scenarios. Spirituality contained in texts of Ancient Indian Wisdom has been adopted in various management practices across the globe and out of those the Bhagavad Gita has been a storehouse of sustainable solutions to many organizational challenges over the years. In context, Spirituality contained in the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad Gita has many insights which could contribute to the dimensions of TQM. Leadership has been a driving dimension for TQM and has been fundamental for the other soft and hard dimensions. This research paper would capture the effect of spiritual leadership based on Bhagavad Gita and its contribution to the soft dimensions of TQM. The conceptual framework is drawn from three streams of literature: Bhagavad Gita, Workplace Spirituality and TQM. Also, this paper would contribute to the existing knowledge base by adding the concepts of Workplace Spirituality from the Bhagavad Gita to TQM literature.

Total Quality Management Meta-Analysis: Founders, Awards Criteria, and Successful versus Failing Cases in Higher Education

<p>The purpose of this meta-analysis paper is to give a clear presentation of the Total Quality Management (TQM) characteristics and concepts applicable to the higher education context. The paper presents the TQM concepts analysed by the founders of the TQM literature. Followed by the meta-analysis of the influence of TQM awards to quality management principles and characteristics. Those TQM awards are attractive to many organizations, including higher education. Consequently, their criteria can reshape the quality management concepts and implementation in organizations when they are granted such awards. This paper uses qualitative meta-analysis as a method of conducting a thorough secondary qualitative analysis of primarily qualitative results. In this systematic review procedure, the literature is reviewed as not only an objective means to combine the results of previous studies but also to compare, classify, and deduce conclusions of theTQM major concepts and the applicability of this model to higher education including successful and failing cases. All of the TQM concepts constituting of the TQM characteristics discussed by the TQM founders and also those TQM characteristics developed by the TQM awards’ criteria are analysed from the perspective of the higher education TQM scholars in order to present the applicability or inapplicability of those concepts or characteristics to higher education.</p>

Benchmarking of TQM practices in INGOs: a literature review

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to aggregate significant part of debates in the field of International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) toward performance improvement by benchmarking of the Total Quality Management (TQM) practices, and to propose TQM-Benchmarking model as a seed for future research in the context of INGOs. Design/methodology/approach – TQM practices for INGOs were first identified based on critical synthesis of the literature for both, existing for-profit TQM literature and the INGOs field-specific quality and accountability frameworks, initiatives, and practices (Jordan introduced as an example) followed by solicitation of the opinions of experts and colleagues through personal interviews and focus group discussions to define the proposed TQM-Benchmarking model. Findings – TQM-Benchmarking model of six practices vital to INGOs performance are proposed by this review including leadership and management commitment, beneficiaries focus and participation, partnership management for sustainability, human resource (HR) focus, process management and learning and continuous improvement, and use of quality information. Originality/value – While TQM practices succeed in improving performance of for-profit organizations, this review proposed TQM-Benchmarking model with field-specific practical pillars of performance improvement in the INGOs.

Bringing Kaizen to the classroom: lessons learned in an Operations Management course

The managerial approach of Kaizen is used by different organisations around the world in order to improve the performance of their work processes and operations. Both the Total Quality Management literature and Kaizen have shown different efforts to illustrate the application of this approach in the traditional classroom-style business education. Also, business schools have a clear need for showing consistency between what is being taught in the classroom and what is being done in the day-to-day operations of the organisation. The purpose of this article is to describe the systematic application of Kaizen and its learned lessons during the last three years in the Operations Management (OM) course from the Master in Business Administration graduate programme taught at the Mexican Business School. An exploratory qualitative study was conducted. This research project provides empirical evidence of how Kaizen's continuous improvement cycle (PDCA) enables better results in students who have taken the subject of OM in a business school. The findings in each phase of the cycle show the Kaizen-oriented improvement actions and the results obtained in final grades (exam) and written reports. Finally, the study contributes to the limited existing literature on Kaizen in education and subsequently disseminates this information in order to provide impetus, guidance and support towards improvement in the quality of teaching in a business school.

Achieving employee commitment for continuous improvement initiatives

Purpose – Although prior research has found that employee participation is key to successfully implementing quality management initiatives (Baird et al., 2011; de Menezes, 2012; Lagrosen and Lagrosen, 2005), little research in operations management exists that investigates which management actions and behaviors lead to employee commitment to such initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap in the operations management literature by investigating which influence tactics are the most effective in soliciting employee commitment to continuous improvement tasks. The paper also examines how influence tactics affect the supervisor-subordinate relationship and the manager’s effectiveness in implementing continuous improvement initiatives. Design/methodology/approach – A survey instrument was used to measure supervisor-subordinate relationship quality, usage of influence behaviors and participants’ task commitment to continuous improvement initiatives. Findings – The results indicate that five of the 11 influence tactics identified in the prior literature, i.e., collaboration, consultation, ingratiation, inspirational appeals, and rational persuasion, are significant and strong predictors of employee commitment to continuous improvement initiatives. Further, analyses show that these influence tactics are significant drivers of the quality of the supervisor-subordinate relationship, which was found to partially mediate the relationship between influence tactics and the supervisor’s effectiveness in implementing continuous improvement projects. Research limitations/implications – Since the extant CI and Total Quality Management literature has looked at the plant or program level rather than the worker-level as in the research, the findings offer one explanation as to why earlier studies investigating the relationship between quality management programs and increased organizational performance reported mixed results. Practical implications – Increasing managers’ awareness and usage of influence tactics may increase the success rate of continuous improvement projects as well the quality of the relationship with the manager’s subordinates. Originality/value – While the extant literature has argued that management support and employee commitment are key components of a continuous improvement project implementation, little has been written about the specific management actions and behaviors that lead to success.