Examination and comparison of the critical factors of total quality management (TQM) across countries

TLDR

Empirical research on TQM critical success factors has largely focused on single countries, with few studies comparing factors across nations within a contingency framework, despite quality gurus asserting universal applicability that requires empirical validation. This study aimed to analyze and compare 76 empirically validated TQM factors and their impact on performance across multiple countries. The authors compared these factors and their effects on various performance measures across countries. The most frequently extracted TQM factors were top management commitment and leadership, customer focus, information and analysis, training, supplier management, strategic planning, employee involvement, human resource management, process management, teamwork, product and service design, process control, benchmarking, continuous improvement, employee empowerment, quality assurance, social responsibility, and employee satisfaction.

Abstract

Various empirical studies have been published about the critical success factors of TQM extracted using a survey approach in a particular country or region. Several studies compared critical TQM factors across different countries, but overall there has been little attempt in the literature to analyse the TQM factors within the context of a contingency approach. Quality gurus such as Deming and Juran contend that quality management concepts are universally applicable, but this is only their personal prescriptions and must be examined empirically. This study analysed and compared 76 empirically validated TQM factors and their impact on various performance measures across countries. The findings showed that top management commitment and leadership, customer focus, information and analysis, training, supplier management, strategic planning, employee involvement, human resource management, process management, teamwork, product and service design, process control, benchmarking, continuous improvement, employee empowerment, quality assurance, social responsibility, and employee satisfaction were the most commonly extracted factors across these 76 studies.