An empirical study of barriers to TQM implementation in Indian industries

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the barriers of total quality management (TQM) implementation, in order to make them known to the managers of Indian industries.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to achieve this objective, an extensive literature review has been carried out to understand the barriers to TQM implementation. This was followed by a survey of quality award winning industries in India.

Findings

A total of 41 completed questionnaires were received and the overall response rate was 31 percent. The findings of this survey suggest that the most important TQM barriers in Indian industry are: “no benchmarking of other company's practices” and “employees are resistant to change”. Factor analysis of the 21 potential barriers to TQM implementation revealed the following five underlying constructs: lack of customer orientation, lack of planning for quality, lack of total involvement, lack of management commitment, and lack of resources.

Originality/value

The findings based on this empirical research present a solution to the difficulties faced by the managers while implementing TQM effectively in their industries.

Citation

Subrahmanya Bhat, K. and Rajashekhar, J. (2009), "An empirical study of barriers to TQM implementation in Indian industries", The TQM Journal, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 261-272. https://doi.org/10.1108/17542730910953031