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Drawing upon the stimulus-organism-response model, this study aims to explore the impact of soft aspects of service quality on revisit intention through the mechanism of perceived empathy.

For the examination of the hypothesized relationships, the study adopts structural equation modelling to analyse the data of 562 respondents (i.e. 281 family members and 281 inpatients).

The empirical results suggest that service quality increased family member empathy perception, which, in turn, improved inpatients’ revisit intentions.

Past studies have focused on the roles of overall service quality. The authors have extended the literature by examining the specific but important aspect of service quality and its effects on emotional response. Importantly, the study explains that the affective reactions of a patient’s family, fastened with perceived empathy, have a central role in influencing the patients’ subsequent reactions. Moreover, the prior studies collected the data either from hospital employees or patients. However, in the present study, the authors used a unique sample (family members as well as patients) to have a deeper understanding. Thus, the study enhances the literature on the stimuli-response (i.e. service quality – revisit intentions) relationship in the context of service marketing in general and health care in specific. Important academic and managerial contributions and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Quality 4.0 is being presented as the new stage of quality development. However, its overlying concept and rationale are still hard to define. To better understand what different authors and studies advocate being Quality 4.0, a systematic literature review was undertaken on the topic. This paper presents the results of such review, providing some avenues for further research on quality management.

The documents for the systematic literature review have been searched on the Scopus database, using the search equation: [TITLE-ABS-KEY (“Quality 4.0”) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (Quality Management” AND (“Industry 4.0” OR “Fourth Industr*” OR i4.0))]. Documents were filtered by language and by type. Of the 367 documents identified, 146 were submitted to exploratory content analysis.

The analyzed documents essentially provide theoretical discussions on what Quality 4.0 is or should be. Five categories have emerged from the content analysis undertaken: Industry 4.0 and the Rise of a New Approach to Quality; Motivations, Readiness Factors and Barriers to a Quality 4.0 Approach; Digital Quality Management Systems; Combination of Quality Tools and Lean Methodologies and Quality 4.0 Professionals.

It was hard to find studies reporting how quality is actually being managed in organizations that already operate in the Industry 4.0 paradigm. Answers could not be found to questions regarding actual practices, methodologies and tools being used in Quality 4.0 approaches. However, the research undertaken allowed to identify in the literature different ways of conceptualizing and analyzing Quality 4.0, opening up avenues for further research on quality management in the Industry 4.0 era.

This paper offers a broad look at how quality management is changing in response to the affirmation of the Industry 4.0 paradigm.

The current study’s goal is to investigate how lean, agile, resilient and sustainable human resource management (LARS HRM) affects green innovation and environmental performance, both directly and indirectly.

Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data based on a sample of 273 Tunisian businesses in the industrial and service sectors that were certified ISO 9001.

With the exception of AHRM–GPdtI, the results show that the mainstream advanced theory on direct effects was verified. With regard to indirect effects, everything of the literature that was presented was accepted, with the exception of the relationship between AHRM–GPdtI–EP, AHRM–GPssI–EP and RHRM–GPdtI–EP.

This research is distinctive in that it aims to incorporate every LARGS paradigm within the HRM field. By taking green innovation into consideration, it closes the current gaps on the direct and indirect effects of LARS HRM on environmental performance. Our study is unique in that it incorporates large, industry-operating, certified ISO 9001 firms with those in the service sector, with the goal of achieving greater generalization of results.

The research aims to develop an assessment framework that evaluates critical success factors (CSFs) for the Quality 4.0 (Q 4.0) transition among Indian firms.

The authors use the fuzzy-Delphi method to validate the results of a systematic literature review (SLR) that explores critical aspects. Further, the fuzzy decision-making trial and laboratory (DEMATEL) method determines the cause-and-effect link. The findings indicate that developing a Q 4.0 framework is essential for the long-term success of manufacturing companies. Utilizing the power of digital technology, data analytics and automation, manufacturing companies can benefit from the Q 4.0 framework. Product quality, operational effectiveness and overall business performance may all be enhanced by implementing the Q 4.0 transition framework.

The study highlights significant awareness of Q 4.0 in the Indian manufacturing sector that is acquired through various means such as training, experience, learning and research. However, most manufacturing industries in India still follow older quality paradigms. On the other hand, Indian manufacturing industries seem well-equipped to adopt Q 4.0, given practitioners' firm grasp of its concepts and anticipated benefits, including improved customer satisfaction, product refinement, continuous process enhancement, waste reduction and informed decision-making. Adoption hurdles involve challenges including reliable electricity access, high-speed Internet, infrastructure, a skilled workforce and financial support. The study also introduces a transition framework facilitating the shift from conventional methods to Q 4.0, aligned with the principles of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR).

This research exclusively examines the manufacturing sector, neglecting other fields such as medical, service, mining and construction. Additionally, there needs to be more emphasis on the Q 4.0 implementation frameworks within the scope of the study.

This may be the inaugural framework for transitioning to Q 4.0 in India's manufacturing sectors and, conceivably, other developing nations.

This review paper aims to explore and investigate the Quality 4.0 current knowledge, emerging areas, and trends available in the literature and provide insights for future research directions. The bibliometric analysis determines the most prominent journals, authors, countries, articles, and themes. The Citation and PageRank analysis identifies the most influential and prestigious articles. The author's keyword analysis identifies the research theme, patterns, and trends within a particular area of research.

This study utilised the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis) declaration as a review protocol, and the data is retrieved accordingly. Therefore, 104 articles from Scopus and 28 from Web of Science were combined in R-Environment, and 25 duplicates were removed using RStudio. Finally, 107 papers were selected for further analysis. After the abstract level screening, the study reviewed 99 articles bibliographically published in peer-reviewed journals from prominent academic databases Scopus and WoS between 2011 to April 2023. We used the VOSviewer software tool for analysing bibliometric networks that allow the construction, visualisation, and exploration of maps based on any form of network data.

The review identified emerging themes: artificial intelligence, digitalization, sustainability, root cause analysis, topic modelling, and digital voice-of-customers. To establish the intellectual structure of the field and identify gaps, co-citation and content analysis were used. The content of 49 papers in the identified clusters was then carefully analysed. The four primary themes are the relationship of Quality 4.0 with Industry 4.0, the conceptualization of Quality 4.0, recommendations for the new Quality 4.0 model, and the impact of Quality 4.0. The findings provide an excellent foundation for future research in this field for policymakers, managers, practitioners, and academia.

This is the first systematic literature review-cum-bibliometric analysis on quality 4.0 that covers the field comprehensively. Based on the present review, the paper proposes six possible future research directions to investigate.

The industrial revolution changed the market landscape significantly in all industrial sectors. It has a noteworthy impact on enhancing the quality of goods and services. The quality aspect is of utmost concern and determines the success or failure of any product. Therefore, the presented study analyses the key barriers and solutions of Quality 4.0.

Twenty barriers and fifteen solutions were identified using a literature review and investigated using a hybrid approach. Barrier weights were evaluated with the help of the fuzzy AHP method. Furthermore, the computed weights were used to perform computations in the next step using fuzzy-TOPSIS to prioritize the ranking of identified solutions.

The research results show that “Lack of applying advanced analytics to uncover Quality 4.0 initiatives” and “Lack of integrating data from various sources across the organization” are the topmost barriers. Furthermore, “Implement a leadership development program focused on Quality 4.0” and “Cross-departmental peer learning environment” are the topmost solutions.

Managers and industrialists can benefit from Quality 4.0 through improved decision-making, process efficiency, supply chain collaboration, agile quality management, enhanced customer experience and a culture of continuous improvement. This results in better quality, operational effectiveness and a competitive edge.

The solutions need to be mapped with barriers to adopting Quality 4.0. Furthermore, the research results involve novelty by prioritizing the solutions to overcome the anticipated barriers.

Industry 4.0 or I4.0 has transformed the manufacturing landscape by integrating social and technical factors by means of the sociotechnical framework. However, the sociotechnical aspects of digitalization of total quality management (TQM 4.0), especially in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) remain largely unexplored. This groundbreaking research endeavors to delve into the pivotal role played by social (soft) and technical (hard) TQM 4.0 in driving I4.0 readiness among SMEs.

A research framework has been developed by harnessing the principles of Socio-technical systems (STS) theory. Data collection from a sample of 310 randomly selected SMEs manufacturing in Malaysia through an online survey approach. The collected data is then subjected to analysis using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) through SmartPLS.

The study findings indicate that both hard and soft TQM 4.0 factors are vital to promoting I4.0 readiness (R² = 0.677) and actual implementation (R² = 0.216). Surprisingly, the findings highlight that customer-related construct has no impact on hard TQM 4.0 attributes. Furthermore, hard TQM 4.0 factors have played a partial mediating role on the relationship of soft TQM 4.0 and I4.0 attributes (20% = VAF = 80%).

This is a novel research as it explores the underexplored domain of sociotechnical aspects of TQM 4.0 within SMEs amid I4.0 transformation. The study distinctive contributes include revealing the pivotal role of both soft and hard TQM 4.0 factors in driving I4.0 readiness, emphasizing the primacy of people-related dimensions for successful implementation in manufacturing SMEs.

This study investigates the challenges and opportunities that organisations face in implementing Quality 4.0 as an approach to quality management and investigate the current state of Quality 4.0 implementation.

This study uses a qualitative research methodology to interview senior managers from globally based manufacturing and service industries.

The study explicates that most organisations implemented Quality 4.0 to improve their flexibility, efficiency, transparency and productivity while focusing on improving service quality, customer satisfaction and reducing cost. In terms of sustainability of Quality 4.0 the key factors found were a consistent effort from the top management, continuous training to employees, building leadership quality and creating a habit of using Quality 4.0.

The findings of this study offer useful guidance to organisations desirous of implementing Quality 4.0. In addition, the findings have identified key sustainability factors, helping organisations ensure a successful implementation and long-term returns from Quality 4.0.

The findings of this study contribute to the body of knowledge related to Quality 4.0 and help organisations in their digital transformation journey. In addition, it is one of the first studies to investigate the key factors for Quality 4.0 sustainability.

The study determined the role of personal values in doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) students’ academic success in Tanzania. Specifically, it looked into the influence of openness to change values, self-enhancement values and conservation values on Ph.D. students’ academic success.

The study employed a cross-sectional survey design, in which 200 Ph.D. students from Tanzanian universities were involved by responding to a questionnaire. The relationship between the variables was determined by using structural equation modeling, and testing of the measurement model was done by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

The results indicate that personal values influence Ph.D. students’ academic success. Particularly, openness to change values have an ß value of 0.209 and p value of < 0.001, self-enhancement values have an ß of 0.173 and p-value of < 0.001 and conservation values have ß of 0.339 and p-value of < 0.001.

In the quest to improve Ph.D. students’ academic success, universities and Ph.D. students should foster openness to change values, self-enhancement values and conservation values in Ph.D. students.

The results of this study extend the use of the Schwartz theory of basic human values in explaining the academic success of Ph.D. students in Tanzanian universities. Past studies that applied this theory were based on secondary school and college students. Moreover, based on the author’s knowledge, this study is one of the early studies to systematically look into the role of personal values on Ph.D. students’ academic success. Thus, the study contributes to the existing literature on personal values and academic success because previous studies on this subject could not examine Ph.D. students’ success in isolation.