Environmentally friendly as a new dimension of product quality

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extend the existing dimensions of product quality to cover ecological phenomena. It proposes adding a new dimension – environmentally friendly – to the existing dimensions of product quality in order to help solve environmental issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The main focus of the literature review is on product quality dimensions. The authors discuss each dimension separately to clarify whether there is any consideration given to producing environmentally friendly products which can directly contribute to product quality dimensions. The population of this study was chosen from consumers, since their demands and expectations play a significant role in producing green products. A stratified sampling method was used and the sample size was selected according to the Morgan table of sampling. Factor analysis was conducted on the collected data to determine the underlying factors of product quality.

Findings

The results indicate that consumers are more concerned about environmental issues in recent decades, and they responded that environmentally friendly is an important part of a product along with other dimensions of product quality which should be considered by manufacturers and producers.

Originality/value

This research is one of the first studies which explores consumers’ opinions on the demand side to examine environmentally friendly capability as a new dimension of product quality.

Citation

Kianpour, K., Jusoh, A. and Asghari, M. (2014), "Environmentally friendly as a new dimension of product quality", International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 31 No. 5, pp. 547-565. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-06-2012-0079