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Focuses on organizational restructuring at Florida Power & Light in the USA, winner of the International Deming Prize for business excellence. Continues with an overview of the different ways in which the company has sought to keep implementing continuous improvement measures. Concludes with the company CEO′s statement that winning the Deming is merely a stopping point in the ongoing journey of quality improvement.

This paper aims to clarify emerging aspects and trends of Six Sigma literature over 17 years, from 1992 to 2008.

The literature on Six Sigma from 417 referred journal articles in business and management disciplines, information systems and computer science, engineering, healthcare, etc. were systematically analyzed based on a scheme that consists of four distinct dimensions: publication year and journal, major themes, research type, and application sector (i.e. manufacturing vs service).

A number of key findings emerged: Six Sigma research is growing rapidly, covering various disciplines and domains with a great focus on Six Sigma tools and techniques; empirical research is dominant with more emphasis on case study approach; and the growing gap between manufacturing‐ and service‐focused articles implies the return of Six Sigma to manufacturing as its initial base. Although a large volume of literature is available on Six Sigma, the topic is still under development and offers potential opportunities for further research and applications.

The paper provides both academics and practitioners with a useful framework for pursuing rigorous Six Sigma research through explaining the chronological growth of Six Sigma, challenging themes of Six Sigma research, dominating research types and application areas in Six Sigma, and the major sources of Six Sigma information.

In 2020, the Journal of Service Theory and Practice (JSTP), previously titled Managing Service Quality, celebrates its 30th anniversary. This study provides a retrospective of the evolution and contribution of the journal to service research by identifying its major trends, research constituents, factors contributing to citations and thematic structure over its 29 active years (1991–2019). The paper concludes by providing directions and ideas for progressing service research

The study uses the Scopus database to extract JSTP's bibliographic data. It employs bibliometric methods to study the trends of the journal, such as the citation structure and most-contributing authors, institutions and countries. Bibliographic coupling and keyword co-occurrence analyses are used to study the intellectual structure of the journal. Regression analysis discloses the factors influencing citations of JSTP articles. Factors explaining the citation count of JSTP articles include article age, number of author keywords, article length, title length and number of references.

JSTP's influence has grown significantly in the scientific community, which is evidenced by findings relating to the citation counts, the thematic scope/variety and authorship features of the JSTP papers published during the last 30 years. JSTP attracts publications from around the globe, but most contributions come from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. Although JSTP has continuously evolved with new and varied themes, a bibliographic coupling analysis clustered JSTP articles into five major clusters.

The limitations of the Scopus database may impact the study's results.

This study is the first to provide a comprehensive review of JSTP since its launch. It is useful to the editorial board and other JSTP stakeholders as well as service scholars alike.

Explains that benchmarking ‐ the process of identifying superior performance or practices of other organizations and internalizing such knowledge for competitive advantage ‐ is performed typically on a project‐by‐project basis. Argues that a better understanding of benchmarking at the project level would help to reveal reasons for successful benchmarking at the organizational level. Develops a conceptual model to address the question of how characteristics of benchmarking teams and partner organizations impact on benchmarking project outcomes. The model focuses on the interaction of key teamwork and organizational variables, and provides a basis for empirical testing of benchmarking project implementation effectiveness.

Examines the quality programme initiated by freight train company Southern Pacific Lines in order to become more competitive. Chronicles the design, introduction and implementation of their quality initiative. Looks at the measures taken to improve on problem areas and at the importance of Training and education in implementing the quality programme.

Discusses QP4, the TQM programme developed by the US Air Force Logistics Command in the late 1980s, which enabled it to win the President′s Award for Quality in 1991.

An examination of US telecommunications system and service provider AT&T′s moves to face the challenges brought about by deregulation in 1984 and the advent of competition from other US operators. Explains how the old ways of working brought problems, leading to crisis management in the wake of the changes and the adoption of quality processes. Examines the results of a 1986 study by AT&T quality managers on the uniquely American Quality Archetype and the need for a nurturing environment where failure is understood as part of achieving a goal, culminating in a model based on the archetype. Explores AT&T′s quality library series of books and courses to educate employees throughout the organisation. Concludes with an assessment of what still needs to be done within AT&T to become a world class organisation by 1994 and defining those remaining challenges.

Reports on total quality management at the University of Wisconsin‐Madison, as espoused by the University′s chancellor, Donna Shalala. Considers the prospects for the resurgence of the quality movement in US federal government now that Shalala is Secretary of Health and Human Resources.