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The purpose of this literature review is to identify and propose a list of few vital critical success factors (CSFs) of total quality management (TQM) for the benefit of researchers and industries.

Even though there has been a large number of articles published related to TQM in the last few decades, only a very few articles focused on documenting the CSFs of TQM using statistical methods. The main objective of this literature review is to investigate and list the CSFs of TQM according to the descending order of frequencies of occurrences. The domain of review is the scale development studies and the TQM effect versus performance measurement studies. The review period is between 1989 and 2003. Rigorous statistical reliability tests and validity tests were conducted during these studies to factorize the CSFs and hence these studies were chosen for the literature review. Finally, the quality tool “Pareto analysis” was used to sort and arrange the CSFs according to the order of criticality.

An examination of 37 such TQM empirical studies resulted in compilation of 56 CSFs. Implementation difficulties exist to operationalize such a large number of CSFs in organizations. This study analyzed and sorted the CSFs in descending order according to the frequency of occurrences using Pareto analysis. A few vital CSFs were identified and reported. The results of this study will help in a smoother penetration of TQM programs in organizations.

In future, the researchers in quality management may develop models to measure and sustain the level of implementation of TQM in industries. CSFs are the essential constructs based on which further statistical analysis can be carried out. The present study will guide the researchers in selecting the reliable set of CSFs for empirical studies. Industries can benefit by adopting the results of this study for effective implementation of TQM.

This paper presents a solution to the difficulties hitherto faced by the organizations in operationalizing the very large number of CSFs proposed by the various empirical studies published in TQM during the last two decades.

This article aims to understand the challenges and key takeaways of implementing total quality management (TQM) in a virtual organisation.

An interventionist research (IVR) methodology combined with a qualitative critical event analysis was used to evaluate the challenges and concerns faced during the company’s adoption of TQM and understand the roles of the key players involved.

Standard process tools such as desktop procedures (DTP), focused teams, and service-level agreements (SLAs) were fundamental to implementing TQM in the company. These processes require the right leaders, but external agents may also be influential, acting as accelerators of change in adopting and using management practices in small companies. Indeed, the researcher acted as a problem solver, bringing innovative solutions to the firm using a hands-on iterative approach.

This research underscores the importance of critical success factors (CSF), such as employee engagement, training, and project management tools. These factors are not just important but crucial for the success of TQM in organisations seeking to adopt the industry’s best practices.

This study, conducted as a virtual IVR for TQM implementation, provides novel insights for practitioners and academics. It elucidates the pivotal role of some quality management tools in the journey towards TQM and the role of both internal and external critical players in the process, particularly in small virtual organisations based on innovative business models.

The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic literature review to identify new avenues of research in line with the ongoing changes in quality and management required to firms, especially regarding customers.

This study uses a systematic review of the literature contained in the three databases Ebsco, JSTOR, and Springerlink and on the search engine Google Scholar.

An analysis of the literature identifies three different clusters of papers: “identification” papers, which show that customer focus has gained importance in recent times; “implementation” papers, which highlight that a general or shared model or scale to successfully implement total quality management (TQM) does not yet exist; and “impact-on-performance” papers, which show that few studies have considered the relationship between TQM and the issues of both marketing and performance, underlining the most significant gap in the TQM literature.

This study is limited by the small number of databases and search engines used and by the restricted number of keywords used in searching these sources.

This work highlights a gap in the existing research and thus an incomplete consideration of the interplay between management, marketing, and quality issues, all centered on customers and other stakeholders. Researchers and firms are thus advised to adopt a wider view that considers the role of the quality process to support the firm’s engagement of customers in activities that enhance both the customer role and customer satisfaction.

This study uses a systematic literature review to review all critical factors of TQM and identifies new research avenues and different approaches to implementing TQM, focusing on the central role that customers play in achieving firm success.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical success factors of total quality management (TQM) in pharmaceutical wholesale distribution companies in Pakistan. The paper also seeks to contribute to reduce the existing lack of TQM studies in developing countries.

A 29‐item survey questionnaire is sent to 90 pharmaceutical distributors. Response rate is 56.7 per cent. Confirmatory factor analysis deletes one item in the scale purification process.

Data analysis reveal that “process design” (PD) is critical TQM success factor in pharmaceutical wholesale distribution companies in Pakistan. Like other studies in developing countries, top management in pharmaceutical wholesale distribution companies in Pakistan does not adequately support the TQM implementation.

The research is based in Pakistan only. Convenience sampling is done. The response size of the study is small (n=51) though the response rate and significance are high. Small response size prevents more complex analysis such as structural equation modelling.

Pharmaceutical wholesale distribution companies are more focused on “PD”. Increased top management support is required for proper TQM implementation.

This research provides framework to researchers to build up more TQM critical success factor studies in similar sector and situations so that more concrete generalizations can be made.

The purpose of this paper is three pronged. First, to review the existing critical success factors (CSF) literature in the context of supply chain management (SCM). Second, to analyze the occurrence frequency of every possible CSF in SCM literature. Third, to identify the “vital few” and the “useful many” CSF that are harmonized across the SCM field.

A time-specific and term-sensitive literature review technique is undertaken to generate a list of possible CSF in SCM. The review yielded 55 papers, but only 26 empirical CSF papers were selected for analysis as the reliability and validity of the factors had been rigorously tested. Consequently, a Pareto analysis approach was applied to trace the CSF frequency of occurrence in SCM literature. By performing a Pareto analysis, this present study is able to identify and categorize the “vital few” and “useful many” CSF that are consistent throughout various fields of SCM. The review and results are tabulated and a Pareto diagram has been constructed to provide a summary of findings.

Out of the 26 selected empirical papers, 25 potent CSF in SCM literature have been extracted. From the Pareto analysis, nine CSF represent 80.68 percentage of occurrence which is regarded as the “vital few” CSF in SCM. The remaining 16 CSF represent 19.32 percentage of occurrence and is regarded as the “useful many” CSF in SCM. The nine “vital CSF” are immensely important, because in order to achieve supply chain and operation success, one must recognize the few vital factors that are responsible for the larger impact onto the industry compared to the other 16 “useful many” CSF.

The study offers some sense of assistance to SCM managers in highlighting the vital few CSF that matter most, regardless of their nature of SCM fields. Thus, saving their energy, time, and resources in determining the critical pieces of information. For academicians, this study provides a platform for future SCM CSF research and the results could aid researchers in developing the research instrument.

This study is the first attempt to apply Pareto analysis for SCM CSF studies and critically analyzing a wide range of SCM CSF literature. The result could allow supply chain managers to focus on the internal factors, as it could implicate the external factors, and is vital for sustainable supply chain operation, plus, it could stimulate potential researcher opportunities in linking SCM CSF and firm performance.

The study aims to investigate the components of photographs that are important in building the perception of tourists towards any destination. The study quantitatively employs secondary data analysis. An extensive literature review is conducted to identify the components of a photograph that impact the tourist perception. These components were analysed for importance using a quality tool called Pareto analysis. The results of the Pareto analysis is categorised under two heads viz Vital few and useful many. The ‘vital few’ are the components of the photograph which are responsible for 80% of the perception building of tourists for a destination. Whereas useful many is the category in which the components are responsible for only 20% of perception building. As depicted in Table 14.1, Visual Aesthetics in Photographs, Nature and Landscape, Colours in Photographs, Excitement Component, People in Photographs and Display of Archaeological Sites fall under the vital few categories as reported by the past literature. Visual Styles of Processing, Shot Composition, Shot Angle, Shot Density and Shot Scale are the components that fall under the category of many. The results of the study will help photographers and destination marketers to understand what builds the perception of the tourist by looking at a photograph. Thus, they can strategise those components accordingly to increase the tourism of a particular destination.

The aim of this paper is to explore the implementation issues of the Business Excellence Model and the process of self‐assessment, from both management and employee perspectives, in a large government organisation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the large Government organisation is indicative of the type of large indigenous organisation in the region. The organisation is part of the Dubai Government Excellence Programme (DGEP).

A multi‐level case study approach is used, involving repeated in‐depth interviews with managers (n=12) and a questionnaire with employees (n=96) to explore the implementation issues at all levels.

There was considerable variation in the implementation effectiveness across the different levels within the organisation. The top down approach had a resonance with the Middle East culture at management levels. However, insufficient participation and empowerment of lower level employees, especially amongst non‐indigenous employees, led to a lack of closure on corrective actions emerging from the self‐assessment process. Overall there was an acceptance of the business improvement side of total quality management (TQM) but there was a need for increased cultural acceptance of the people development aspects.

There is a paucity of multi‐level in‐depth studies relating to Business Excellence and self‐assessment in Middle Eastern organisations where a critical cultural perspective is adopted, even though there has been considerable resources expended by Government in initiatives such as the Dubai Government Excellence Programme (DGEP).

The authors aim to examine the literature on enterprise resource planning (ERP) to establish whether the critical success factors (CSFs) for achieving stages of an ERP project have been empirically shown to be “critical”.

The authors used a systematic approach to review 627 refereed papers published between 1998 and 2010 on ERP, from which 236 papers related to CSFs on ERP were selected for analysis. The authors employed procedures from qualitative and interpretive research methods, to analyse and interpret the material using five-step procedure of gathering, categorising, coding, analysing and comparing the data.

Prior studies have identified a large number of CSFs for ERP implementation success or improved performance outcomes. The authors have shown that a limited number of CSFs have been empirically investigated for their role in, and effect on, implementation success or post-implementation performance outcomes. While reporting the factors that have some evidence to support them, the authors question the utility of the general concept of CSFs.

The authors' findings question the validity of many of the claimed CSFs and the utility of the general body of literature on CSFs. The authors caution researchers who may plan to use claimed CSFs for ERP in their research to carefully examine the veracity of the claim before proceeding.

The findings can help managers to focus their attention, priorities, resources and leadership on managing the CSFs that have been established to be critical for achieving ERP project implementation and/or performance outcomes.

The results provide new insights into the usefulness of CSFs and indicate that merely identifying possible CSFs is not sufficient to help with ERP success. Further investigation is required to establish the criticalness of the proposed CSFs before managerial time is devoted to them.

The pharmaceutical industry has a critical impact on health promotion. It is essential to identify and prioritize the critical success factors (CSFs) within this industry to ensure successful implementation of total quality management (TQM). Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritize CSFs that affect TQM successful implementation in the pharmaceutical industry.

Based on a thorough review of the literature and building on the earlier studies, a valid questionnaire was developed and sent to 320 managers in pharmaceutical sector. In total, 210 completed questionnaires were returned. The technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) was used to rank and prioritize CSFs.

Results of the data analyses showed that information and analysis, management commitment, relationship with suppliers, and customer focus are the top four CSFs for the successful implementation of TQM in the pharmaceutical sector.

Using TOPSIS approach, this is the first study that determines CSFs that have impact on successful implementation of TQM in the pharmaceutical sector. There have been limited studies investigating the CSFs in developing countries. The findings will be useful in helping manager to successfully implement TQM in emerging markets. The approach will help future studies to examine the impact of successful implementation of TQM on firm performance in other industries and in emerging markets.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the existing literature on agile manufacturing (AM) to pinpoint critical success factors (CSFs) affecting the successful implementation of agile manufacturing systems.

The study focused on empirical articles published in peer-reviewed journals from 1991 to 2019 (July). In total, 37 empirical studies were shortlisted for analysis as the reliability and validity of the constructs were critically tested using various statistical methods. Further, “Pareto analysis” tool was employed to sort and arrange the factors critical for smoother and effective implementation of AM, in descending order according to their frequency of occurrence.

The present work scrutinizes 37 research papers, resulting in 33 CSFs that affect AM implementation. Using Pareto analysis, 8 CSFs are regarded as “vital few,” which account for 82.66 percent of occurrence, and the remaining 25 CSFs are regarded as “useful many,” which account for 17.34 percent of occurrence. The managers must focus on successful deployment of “vital few” CSFs, as they are more critical in achieving business excellence through the successful implementation of AM, in comparison to other 25 “useful many” CSFs.

To the best knowledge of authors, this work is the first attempt to employ Pareto analysis for critically analyzing a wide range of AM CSFs studies. The findings of this study will assist researchers and managers in AM implementation in a more smoother and effective way in manufacturing industries.