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The purpose of this paper is to highlight the challenges facing the quality management system (QMS) of parent and subsidiary companies within the dynamics of multinational mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships, and to present guidelines for developing a global quality strategy.

The quality systems of 18 multinational companies at different stages of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) processes and different global expansion levels were studied in depth using observations, content analyses and interviews with CEOs and operational and quality managers in parent or subsidiary companies.

As part of the M&A process, not enough consideration is given to the functional aspects and challenges facing the QMS of subsidiaries, and to the integration of the subsidiary QMS into the corporate QMS. The findings highlight the strategic role of the parent company in creating a corporate QMS and developing a corresponding global quality strategy.

The classification of the challenges facing the parent and subsidiary QMS forms a diagnostic tool that supports a functional preparedness for integrating quality systems, while addressing their local needs, integrating them into the global activity of the system, and utilizing the growing integrative array of resources and capabilities to achieve global value.

While M&A is perceived as a strategic topic, it has direct impact on the QMS. This study outlines a necessary conjoining of quality management and strategy, which is the key to global quality management.

The complex processes of global organizations poses significant challenges for the global quality management systems (QMSs) responsible for their coordination and effective management. This includes meeting local customers' needs, as well as being responsible for global operational effectiveness, aggregate capacity utilization, cost reduction and standardization. This study examines how all of these ends can be accomplished. Regulating local and global needs emerges as a key issue, but one that lacks clarity. Therefore, this article outlines an approach for developing a coherent, strategic approach.

A field study of eighteen multinational companies (MNCs) examined and mapped the activity of their QMS, defined representative profiles and compared these profiles to strategic, operational and marketing needs.

The data analysis shows several gaps in the approach to global quality management. The lack of coherence and considerable vagueness in addressing inter-organizational processes leads to behavior that fluctuates between absolute autonomy and specific initiatives aimed at reaching the necessary level of integration needed to achieve operational effectiveness.

The innovative mapping process and analysis of the current study provide a tool for differentiating between the local and global needs of MNCs' quality systems, identifying gaps and defining activities aimed at regulating responses while increasing global added value from the QMS. This provides deeper insight into the business needs of global and local QMSs to enhance the value derived from coordination and regulation.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the operations of the quality management systems (QMS) in multinational companies, and develop a framework for classifying the QMS features based on the global operational and marketing structures arising from their expansion process. This paper is based on doctoral research conducted at the Department of Statistics, University of Haifa, Israel in 2007–2015.

This study used the innovative approach of adopting a systems perspective in analyzing the operation of a global QMS. In total 18 multinational companies at different levels of global expansion were studied in depth using observations, longitudinal studies, content analyses and depth interviews.

The result of this study is the global hierarchical model (GHM) that presents a classification of representative global operational and marketing structures deriving from the expansion process of multinational companies, and the extrapolated features of the respective global QMS.

This classification serves as a diagnostic tool for identifying the proper globalization level of a QMS, thereby helping plan global quality strategy and identifying the steps necessary for its effective implementation.

This research seeks to fill a lacuna in the field of global quality system development with regard to modes of competition and challenge. Integration of strategic, operational and marketing rationales into the QMS’s processes augments the functional level of management and supports the development of a strategy for global quality management that is derived from and supports the company’s global strategy.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Maintaining consistent quality management across vast multinational organizations is increasingly complex, and requires significant consideration and investment. The increasingly fractured, supplier-based system of the global economy means it is harder than ever to maintain standards.

The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.