Masahiro Miyagawa and Kosaku Yoshida
The main objective of this study is to explore the relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and the business performance of Japanese‐owned manufacturers in…
Abstract
Purpose
The main objective of this study is to explore the relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and the business performance of Japanese‐owned manufacturers in the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
In this empirical study, 200 companies were chosen by random sampling from the universe group of 519 in August 2007. A total of 32 usable questionnaires were received, and the overall response rate was 16 percent.
Findings
The survey results show that TQM practices significantly influence the overall company performance of Japanese‐owned manufacturers in the USA. This implies that TQM is an effective method for improving business performance, regardless of where the company might be operating, as long as the TQM practices are appropriately implemented. In addition to the research data, findings from a field research also provide supplementary evidence to support this conclusion.
Originality/value
This study compares the findings from a recent survey conducted in the USA with the authors' previous study done in China. The survey uses the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) criteria as a measuring scale, and the project adopts a pre‐tested questionnaire as a survey instrument, which has also been used in previous empirical studies.
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Masahiro Miyagawa and Kosaku Yoshida
The main purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between TQM practices and the business performance of Japanese‐owned manufacturers in China.
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between TQM practices and the business performance of Japanese‐owned manufacturers in China.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, 200 companies out of the universe 1000 were chosen by random sampling in June 2002.
Findings
A total of 52 usable questionnaires were received and the overall response rate was 26 percent. The survey results show that TQM practices influence overall company performance significantly in Japanese‐owned manufacturers in China. This implies that TQM is an effective method to improve business performance regardless of where the company might be operating as long as the TQM practices are implemented appropriately. In addition to the research data, findings from a field study also provide supplementary evidence to support this conclusion.
Originality/value
The findings based on the empirical research would be useful to both decision makers and researchers who are interested in this growing “factory of the world”.