Development culture and TQM in Turkish healthcare: importance of employee empowerment and top management leadership

Abstract

Total quality management (TQM) is directed at quality consciousness throughout all organisational processes. A successful TQM practice requires a culture that can adapt to changes and promote innovation. Development culture focuses especially on improvement, flexibility and external environment, concerning with growth, innovation and adaptation. From this perspective, the present study aims to examine the link between development culture and TQM in Turkish healthcare organisations and to explore the mediating roles of top management leadership and employee empowerment. Data were collected by using survey method and analysed by using structural equation modelling while being controlled for common method bias. The findings revealed that while development culture has a positive influence TQM, it is the top management leadership which mediates this relationship, not the employee empowerment. The results are discussed considering the difference in these mediating effects and organisational implications of the findings are provided.