Investigating total quality management practice's inter-relationships in ISO 9001:2000 certified organisations

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the inter-relationships of TQM practices in ISO 9000 certified organisations in Greek organisations. The sample comprised Greek companies that have been implementing a quality management system in accordance with the ISO 9001:2000 standard. The reliability and validity of the quality management practices was examined through confirmatory factor analysis, while their relationships were examined through structural equation modelling. The study revealed that practices such as process quality management and employee involvement are mainly influenced by practices such as quality management and customer focus and secondarily by quality improvement tools and techniques. The participation of companies from all sectors in the research does not offer the possibility to include some special characteristics of each individual sector in the shaping of the management framework.