Kaylasson Maistry, Dinesh Kumar Hurreeram and Vinaysing Ramessur
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the relationship between total quality management (TQM) and innovation and the way each impacts on the performance of agricultural…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the relationship between total quality management (TQM) and innovation and the way each impacts on the performance of agricultural research and development (R&D) organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
A gap score survey instrument based on the balanced scorecard approach, 25 most commonly reported TQM practices and two types of innovation were considered for data collection. Structural equation modelling was used for the analysis of the relationships between the surveyed constructs.
Findings
A positive relationship between TQM, innovation and performance was observed. A hypothesised model depicting the complex relationships between the investigated constructs was developed.
Practical implications
The model, which also predicts total effects of various organisational practices on performance, provides an opening for developing a TQM-innovation-performance framework for agricultural R&D organisations.
Originality/value
The survey instrument presents a novel approach for assessment of R&D policies and practices through determination of gap scores.
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Olga Rodriguez-Arnaldo and Angel R. Martínez-Lorente
This study has the main aim of analyzing the influence of six factors on ISO 9001 implementation: Economic Development, Exporting to Europe, Reputation, Competitiveness…
Abstract
Purpose
This study has the main aim of analyzing the influence of six factors on ISO 9001 implementation: Economic Development, Exporting to Europe, Reputation, Competitiveness, Innovation and Business Sophistication. As a complement, a new factor relating to quality by country has been added: the World Quality Scoreboard.
Design/methodology/approach
Hypotheses are proposed that establish a (positive or negative) linear relationship between the diffusion of ISO 9001 and the indicators of the different factors analyzed in each country. The SPSS program was used to evaluate the hypotheses using data from 2009 to 2018.
Findings
The results indicate strong positive relationship for the country's economic development only when countries with low levels of income are considered. For the rest of the variables, the results indicate that their behavior varies according to the degree of development of the countries. When only developed countries are considered, significant and negative correlations are obtained for reputation, competitiveness, innovation and business sophistication, while considering the group of less developed countries, the results are reversed. The new World Quality Scoreboard has the same behavior whereas regarding exports; we did not obtain conclusive results.
Originality/value
This study adds important information on the studying of ISO 9000 phenomenon diffusion/evolution by analyzing the effect of six variables on the degree of implementation of the ISO 9001 standard in different countries. This information is interesting for companies and certification bodies across the world because it allows a better understanding of the reasons and conditions of implementing a quality management system.
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José Soria-García and Ángel Rafael Martínez-Lorente
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how quality culture influences the relationship between total quality management (TQM) and secondary school students’ perceived service…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how quality culture influences the relationship between total quality management (TQM) and secondary school students’ perceived service quality (PSQ).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors underpin research to analyse the effect of quality culture and TQM practices on PSQ. The sample included questionnaires completed by 268 teachers and 559 students from 56 secondary schools in the Murcia Region (Spain). The proposed model comprises an exogenous construct (quality culture) and three endogenous ones (two constructs represent the TQM model’s infrastructure practices and core practices, whereas one represents PSQ), and specifies the relations among them. The authors used the variance-based structural equation modeling technique and the partial least squares estimation method to test the hypotheses.
Findings
Its empirical analysis reveals that the quality culture influences the effectiveness of QM practices by suggesting a significant strong effect on infrastructure and core quality practices. In turn, the analysis reveals that these two QM aspects differently have an impact on PSQ. Finally, the mediation analysis results reveal the indirect significant impact of the quality culture on PSQ through the mediator effect of QM practices.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this work is to theoretically explain and empirically prove some mechanisms by which education centers can develop and implement a total quality initiative. The findings provide ideas for management teams about how to personalize TQM practices to achieve optimum performance outcomes.
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Primary and secondary education (P&SE) is fundamentally important for achieving a high-quality education system. P&SE delivers more extensive social returns than higher education…
Abstract
Purpose
Primary and secondary education (P&SE) is fundamentally important for achieving a high-quality education system. P&SE delivers more extensive social returns than higher education and is perhaps the most important locus where core values are established and the foundation for educational super-systems. The purpose of this paper is to develop a structured approach for the implementation of total quality management (TQM) in P&SE and validate it empirically.
Design/methodology/approach
A 7-dimensioned and a 66-itemed instrument was developed and administered to education professionals at Greek P&SE institutions to measure TQM implementation at present and its potential for the future. The measures were tested for validity and reliability.
Findings
The findings confirmed that the instrument developed is both valid and reliable. The factors of TQM identified for P&SE were leadership, student focus, continuous improvement, process control and involvement, education and training, measurement and evaluation, and change management.
Practical implications
P&SE institutions can employ the instrument developed to guide their implementation of TQM practices. Researchers and practitioners can use it to build models to relate facilitating practices to quality performance while enhancing social empowerment and contributing to economic growth, particularly at times of economic difficulty.
Originality/value
The present study adds value to the existing literature by investigating the unexplored field of TQM in P&SE at a time of economic downturn by offering researchers and practitioners a starting point to identify areas that require further support and improvement or have potential efficiency gain.
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Joaquín Gómez-Gómez, Micaela Martínez-Costa and Ángel Rafael Martínez-Lorente
Despite the widespread use of excellence models as a self-assessment tool in the past two decades, little is known about the underlying logic behind the way that promoting…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the widespread use of excellence models as a self-assessment tool in the past two decades, little is known about the underlying logic behind the way that promoting organizations give weight to their criteria, and whether these scores align with business reality. This paper aims to analyze whether these scores coincide with the vision of managers and the real situation of business today.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses three different methods and two kinds of data to review the evolution of scores on criteria in excellence models since their creation and empirically analyses and compares the results with the vision of the managers.
Findings
The results show that the estimated weight of criteria in the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model (both directly perceived by managers and obtained with the statistical analysis) do not coincide with the value that the promoting organization has given to them, in its current version or in the previous versions.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is focused exclusively on industrial companies so one discussion point that can serve as a basis for future research is to study whether there is any difference in the distribution of points between industrial organizations and services, or between private and public organizations.
Practical implications
The results show that, depending of the methodology used to evaluate the weight of each element of the excellence model, these weights could be different and are different from those proposed by EFQM. Therefore, if managers want to use the EFQM model of excellence for self-evaluation purposes, they should define their own weights for each element, in accordance with their own company characteristics. Leadership, strategy, people, partnership & resources and processes could have more or less importance in promoting the success of a business, according to the specific situation of each company.
Originality/value
This study has been made using three different methods and two kinds of data.
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Cristóbal Sánchez‐Rodríguez, Frank W. Dewhurst and Angel Rafael Martínez‐Lorente
To provide insights into current IT and total quality management (TQM) theory and practice on operational and quality performance, in particular the use of IT in supporting TQM…
Abstract
Purpose
To provide insights into current IT and total quality management (TQM) theory and practice on operational and quality performance, in particular the use of IT in supporting TQM policies and practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Hypotheses derived from the key features of TQM and IT presented by previous authors are tested using structural equation modelling through field research on a sample of 234 manufacturing companies in Spain.
Findings
The results indicate that the sampled firms make considerable use of IT to support their TQM initiatives and that overall such efforts generate significant positive gains on operational and quality performance. The few exceptions to this are noted and discussed.
Research limitations/implications
The implications and limitations of the survey together with suggestions for further research are fully discussed.
Practical implications
A survey of IT in support of TQM initiatives on operational and quality performance in manufacturing suggests how firms and other organisations should focus their IT investments to improve performance.
Originality/value
Both information technology and TQM have had, and continue to have, a significant impact on most organizations. Although each paradigm has been widely researched there is little empirical research on the relationship between the two and how they both relate to business performance.
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Micaela Martínez‐Costa and Ángel R. Martínez‐Lorente
ISO 9000 certification has a growing importance for companies, mainly in Europe but also in other countries. Several papers have analysed the effects of ISO 9000 certification on…
Abstract
Purpose
ISO 9000 certification has a growing importance for companies, mainly in Europe but also in other countries. Several papers have analysed the effects of ISO 9000 certification on company results, with contradictory conclusions. The purpose of this work is to clarify these possible effects.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports new findings on the topic following a study using data from 713 companies and using the two methodologies that have been applied in the scientific literature: the comparison of certified and non‐certified companies and a longitudinal study of the results of certification.
Findings
The data suggest that not only is ISO 9000 positive for companies but also it can actually reduce benefits and profitability.
Practical implications
Several reasons for these results can be suggested and constitute a critique of the almost compulsory character of ISO 9000 as a norm for performance in some markets. Companies should be aware that implementing ISO 9000 just for compliance does not constitute a competitive advantage.
Originality/value
This research uses objective measures of performance and combines two methodologies: the comparison between certified and non‐certified companies and a longitudinal analysis.
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Evangelos Psomas, Dimitrios Kafetzopoulos and Katerina Gotzamani
The present study focuses on two basic determinants of company innovation, namely, quality practices of top management and process quality management. The purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study focuses on two basic determinants of company innovation, namely, quality practices of top management and process quality management. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of these determinants on product and process innovation. Determining the impact of these dimensions of innovation on the market performance of a company is also an aim of the present study.
Design/methodology/approach
A research study was carried out on a sample of 433 Greek manufacturing and service companies. Data were obtained through a structured questionnaire from the chief executive officers of the companies. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses are applied to extract and validate all the latent factors considered in the suggested model, while their relationships are determined through structural equation modeling.
Findings
The analysis of the empirical data shows that both the dimensions of company innovation examined in the present study (product and process innovation) are positively influenced by the quality practices of top management and process quality management. Improving these two dimensions of company innovation, in turn, results in increased market performance.
Research limitations/implications
First, the sample of the responding manufacturing and service Greek companies which includes both small and medium-sized enterprises and large companies and which operate in circumstances of financial crisis; second, the subjective data collected from only one company representative; and third, the examination of only two factors influencing company innovation, are the main limitations of the present study. Based on these limitations, future research studies are recommended.
Practical implications
The empirically validated theoretical model of the present study can guide the policy makers of a company to select a quality management and innovation strategy through which the company can lay the foundations to increase its market performance, and thus, overcome the current economic downturn and financial crisis. Researchers can also use the suggested valid model as an assessment tool, a benchmarking tool and a tool for the design of their future research studies.
Originality/value
The present study contributes to the literature by determining a valid model that describes simultaneously the relationships between quality management factors, product and process innovation and market performance. This is also the first study reflecting Greek companies’ efforts to withstand the current downturn and penetrate the market through innovation.
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Daniel Jiménez-Jiménez, Micaela Martinez-Costa, Angel R. Martínez-Lorente and Hammady Ahmed Dine Rabeh
Multinational corporations face a more intense competence and a higher number of changes in the different countries they operate. In this regard, organizational learning and…
Abstract
Purpose
Multinational corporations face a more intense competence and a higher number of changes in the different countries they operate. In this regard, organizational learning and quality management are key elements that could help them to survive in the market. Convinced by the numerous benefits and competitive potential of total quality management (TQM) programmes, corporations have promoted its implementation. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the interaction between these programmes and organizational learning, more precisely with exploitation and exploration capabilities, in order to understand the way in which quality management programmes could help to develop learning in the companies.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed model. The sample comprised 111 medium-sized Spanish companies, with four different responses each. Constructs are measured with Likert scales previously tested in the literature.
Findings
The results show that TQM is positively and strongly related to both exploitation and exploration and that the relationship between TQM and exploitation is higher. Concerning the effects of exploitation and exploration on firm performance; results of the analysis show that only exploration capability positively affects organizational performance. It is also confirmed a positive effect of a TQM system in performance.
Originality/value
This research covers a gap in the literature regarding the relationship between organizational learning and TQM, particularly with the concepts of exploitation and exploration in the context of multinational companies.
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Nancy Bouranta, Evangelos Psomas and Jiju Antony
The aim of this paper is to present the main findings of the studies in the field of quality management (QM) in primary and secondary education. Grouping these findings into…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to present the main findings of the studies in the field of quality management (QM) in primary and secondary education. Grouping these findings into themes and these themes, in turn, into broad categories as well as prioritizing the themes of findings are also aims of the present study.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review (SLR) of articles focusing on QM in primary and secondary education was carried out based on major publishers, namely Emerald Online, Taylor and Francis, Elsevier/Science Direct, Springer Link, Sage Publishing and Online. In total, 133 articles published in 62 journals during 1983–2019 were collected. The affinity diagram was applied in order to group the findings of the QM studies into logical themes and these themes into broad categories. Moreover, the Pareto diagram was applied to prioritize the themes revealed.
Findings
A plethora of articles focusing on QM in primary and secondary education have been published in the last decades. The findings of the QM studies presented in the 133 reviewed articles are grouped into 43 themes and these themes, in turn, into 6 broad categories, namely management practices, school characteristics, teachers, stakeholders, government and pupils. The analysis also reveals themes that can be characterized as “vital” and “useful.”
Practical implications
Researchers and school managers can take into consideration the findings of the QM studies in primary and secondary education as well as the themes of high priority for the design of future studies and QM implementation plans, respectively.
Originality/value
This is the first literature review study which presents analytically the findings of the QM studies in primary and secondary education. This study also contributes to the literature by formulating meaningful themes of these findings and broad categories of these themes and by prioritizing the themes revealed.