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The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the causal relationships in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) Education Performance Excellence Criteria.

Using a sample of 220 respondents from 15 United Arab Emirates (UAE) universities and colleges, results of regression analysis and confirmatory structural equation modeling show that all of the hypothesized causal relationships in the Baldrige model are statistically significant.

A comprehensive “measurement model” grounded in the Baldrige Performance Excellence in Education Criteria for the 33 items of measurement is developed, tested, and found to be valid and reliable. Leadership is identified as a driver for all components in the Baldrige System, including measurement, analysis and knowledge management, strategic planning, faculty and staff focus and process management. All Baldrige components (categories) are significantly linked with organizational outcomes as represented by the two categories of organizational performance results and student, stakeholder and market focus. The paper also tests the statistical fit of the only Baldrige model dealing with higher education, which was published in 1998 by Winn and Cameron.

The data obtained are based on a sample of UAE higher education institutions. Studies in other countries should be conducted using the developed model to ensure the reliability of the results obtained.

A greater understanding of the linkages between the elements making‐up the MBNQA Education Performance Excellence Criteria model, facilitating the guiding role that the award models play in the implementation of quality management in higher education.

For the first time, an instrument of the MBNQA Education Performance Excellence Criteria is developed and tested. A new in‐depth and holistic perspective for examining the relationships and linkages in the MBNQA Education Performance Excellence Criteria model is provided.

This paper aims to help understand how community-based social entrepreneurs experience world-class “performance excellence” models and to explore the core values that enable social enterprises to become high-performance organizations.

Underpinned by Mindsponge processes, the proposed conceptual framework critiques the Baldrige criteria for performance excellence (BCPE) model in a global south context. The mixed-methods study fosters an in-depth analysis. First, it validates the BCPE mechanism in community-based social enterprises (CBSEs) before identifying the significant core values and concepts of BCPE that influence CBSEs to achieve high performance.

The BCPE, adapted from global north corporate principles and applied at a community level, can significantly develop global south organization performance excellence. Five core values and concepts from the 11 fundamental beliefs in driving performance excellence were found to support performance excellence in CBSE management. These values and concepts are “customer-focused excellence,” “social responsibility,” “systems perspective,” “visionary leadership” and “focus on success.”

First, factors influencing performance excellence are not limited to the core values elements discussed. Future research may clarify factors extracted from the “Process” category of BCPE to explore further how CBSEs can enhance their performance in a different formation path. Second, this study only considered the Thai-Phuan community in Pho Tak village, Nong Khai, Thailand, to represent as a single case study. However, different, clustered or contrasting CBSEs in other regions remain open for further exploration to enrich the knowledge of “performance excellence” in a community organization. Finally, a longitudinal study would be a welcome addition.

The following must be considered. First is setting a clear direction: the organization’s vision and mission, by purposeful design, should ensure that CBSE managers are leading by example and demonstrating the importance of social and environmental value creation. Second is developing institutional culture: fundamental core values focused predominantly on “customer-focused excellence” and “social responsibility” encourage collaboration by “working together to drive success”. Third is developing integrated management system: CBSEs need to ensure that the management systems can collaborate and complement each component to create performance excellence. Fourth is creating a learning organization: CBSEs need to create a culture of continuous learning through data collection, measurement, analysis and modification.

This study clarifies that the implementation of BCPE is crucial to the establishment of performance excellence at both macro- and micro-level organizations. According to the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the fundamental drivers of BCPE are the same for all types of organizations and in all sectors, whether in the private sector, education, health care or government (Blazey and Grizzell, 2021). By applying the Baldrige excellence model at the community level, this study found that CBSE can similarly strive for excellence and improved performance. This can lead to strengthened services, increased productivity and enhanced quality of life for the community.

This study provides a novel viewpoint on the Baldrige paradigm. Expressly, BCPE is compatible with global south community-based organizations to enhance performance excellence. Its essential contribution demonstrates that Baldrige model concepts are more widespread within smaller and underdeveloped territories than imagined. The recent (post-study) inclusion of “Community” as an independent sector in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards validates the research findings and recommendations proposed by this study.

The purpose of this paper is to explore two explanations for the Baldrige Award’s decline. The management fashion literature suggests that it is a waning management fad, and the marketing choice literature suggests the likely presence of an ISO 9000 substitution effect.

This exploratory study utilizes data collected on Baldridge Award applications, publications, ISO 9000 certifications and economic indicators. These data are contrasted to explore patterns and trends, and correlation analyses conducted to reveal the plausibility of the fad and substitution effect explanations for the Baldrige Award’s decline.

Data analysis confirms the Baldrige Award’s prolonged decline and strongly suggests it is in the final stage of a management fashion life cycle with support provided for the presence of an ISO 9000 substitution effect.

Many organizations have shifted their attention away from the Baldrige as a means to quality and performance excellence, and there is evidence that the ISO 9000 standards are a viable substitute.

The Baldrige Program has served its purpose with the Baldrige Award being the pinnacle of recognition for performance excellence achievement. However, the Award is in decline and the Baldrige Program is on a path to financial exigency. The Baldrige must be reframed to recover its role as the preeminent approach to performance excellence.

The paper satisfies the need to examine potential causes for the diminishing role of the Baldrige Award and challenges both academicians and practitioners to reexamine the Baldrige Program.

Academic libraries have endured rapid change in the past two decades that has had repercussions on how they manage their organization and deliver library services. Skyrocketing costs, especially for journals, explosive growth in new technologies, fiscal exigencies caused by a tightening of public financing of most academic institutions, demands for greater accountability, and the onslaught of electronic delivery of networked information, are just some of the major obstacles libraries are encountering (Lubans, 1996; Riggs, 1993; Shaughnessy, 1987). Customers of academic libraries are increasingly less satisfied because of limited resources and the difficulties they encounter in accessing printed material in a traditional library facility (Doughtery, 1992). The emergence of textual materials in electronic form has added a new dimension to this discontent. While such resources have the potential for meeting the information needs more dynamically, the costs for information have been exorbitant, particularly since full electronic texts have not been sufficient in coverage to supplant printed resources (Tenopir, 1993). These phenomena require academic libraries to use a more integrated and flexible approach to problem solving (Gapen, Hampton & Schmitt, 1993).

The Baldrige criteria for assessing business performance excellence (BCPE) suggests a relationship among seven self-assessment categories. The purpose of this paper is to take an in-depth look at the BCPE by testing the causal relationship among categories grouped into four basic dimensions – driver triad, work core, outcomes, and brain centre. Identifying meaningful interrelationships for leaders helps them transform their organisations to achieve performance excellence.

A systems perspective supports system mapping for understanding meaningful interrelationships among dimensions and mediating factors affecting business performance excellence. A 35-item questionnaire designed to measure seven categories of the BCPE (version 2022–2023) was administered to export and import (EXIM) businesses across Thailand. Valid responses (n = 290) were analysed through SPSS and AMOS via structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the hypotheses and explore the influencing factors.

A strong systems perspective focus is essential for high organisational performance. The result reveals that all seven BCPE categories are significantly linked. In addition, mediation analysis (taking selected mediators) proved hypothesised cause-and-effect relationship as significant. The results demonstrate that the brain centre plays a crucial role in driving business success promulgating its influence within the model.

This study provides the necessary backgrounding in systems perspectives confirming that the BCPE premises on a set of four basic dimensions: driver triad (leadership, strategy, and customers category), work core (workforce and operations category), brain centre (measurement, analysis, and knowledge management category), and outcomes (results category). These four dimensions define the essentials of an integrated management system. Further, the study shows that measurement, analysis, and knowledge management directly influenced customer focus, the highest coefficient path among the criterion in the Baldrige framework. This is the critical driver in predicting performance outcomes via meaningful feedback.

From a managerial point of view, the structured system management framework proposed provides a specific guide for the alignment in quality management, which can change its practice in business management and award assessment. The results evidence a significant relationship among driver triad, work core, brain centre, and outcomes to propose a form of system management. The findings help award examiners or business practitioners provide system mapping for evaluation – i.e. how well organisations meet their goals and how best to prepare feedback reports to applicants that paint meaningful pictures.

This study promotes a systems perspective when approaching business performance excellence, whereas other studies provide evidence to individual relationships. Moreover, the examined interrelationship among dimensions – driver triad, work core, outcomes, and brain centre – provide novel system mapping to guide managers, practitioners, or award examiners in evaluating quality management practice.

This paper examines the relationship between ISO 9000:2000 quality standards, QS9000, ISO/TS 16949 and the Baldrige criteria for performance excellence revised in the year 2002. A comparison is made between Baldrige criteria and the various elements of ISO 9000, QS9000 and ISO/TS 16949 Standards and their similarities and differences are examined. Implementing ISO 9000 requirements as an initial step for TQM implementation is also discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to study the progression of business excellence (BX) in 13 repeat applicants for the New Zealand Business Excellence award over the period 1993‐2007.

A multiple case approach analyses quantitative scoring data along with qualitative interview and secondary data.

Formal, external assessments play a critical role in promoting continuous improvement toward BX. However, effective responses to feedback differ for enabler processes vs results. Achieving improved results requires a fundamental review of measurement approaches, as well as better alignment of performance measures to overall activities. Successful paths to continuous improvement vary depending on the starting point for this journey. Organisations starting with a relatively strong position can use external feedback to target improvement efforts for maximum benefit. Organisations starting at a more basic level of performance need to generalise improvement efforts across their full range of business activities. The research also identified the existence of hurdles along the road to BX.

The New Zealand Business Excellence Foundation, which administers the award scheme in New Zealand (NZ) had adopted the US Baldrige criteria as a whole, and no work has yet been done to validate the criteria for NZ conditions. This paper uses changes in scores between applications as a measure of progress to BX, so there is the possibility of applicants “gaming” the system (e.g. one research participant admitted they gained a large one‐off scoring improvement largely on the basis of writing a better application). Future research could extend this work by: studying the performance over time of a control group using Baldrige‐type criteria for internal assessment only; comparing one‐time applicants with repeat applicants; and studying the extent to which Baldrige criteria are appropriate within other national contexts such as NZ.

This research provides insight and advice into what works and what does not in implementing the Baldrige BX criteria.

This paper analyses a unique data source and contributes to the literature on drivers and barriers to continuous improvement, a key literature within operations management.

The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform recently released a preliminary report with recommendations on cutting costs in the federal government, and one of its recommendations included the elimination of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, formerly known as the Malcolm Baldrige Nationality Quality Award Program. Established by an act of Congress in 1987, during the Reagan Administration, the goal of the Malcolm Baldrige Nationality Quality Award Program was to stimulate and reward product quality excellence. Since the inception of the award, however, there has been a long‐standing controversy among industry leaders and academics on whether winning this award does enhance future financial performance and ultimately shareholders' wealth. This debate has again been recently fueled by the possible elimination of the program by the US government. This study, aims to shed further light on this subject by examining the academic research on the financial performance of the Baldrige Award winners.

The paper examines academic and professional research on whether the Award adds value to firms and their investors.

The conclusion, perhaps not surprisingly, is somewhat mixed; although there is parsimonious evidence to suggest that Award winners do witness an increase in market value. By and large, the authors feel that when all the benefits of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program are considered and given the short‐term focus of studies in this area, the elimination of the program would be a terrible mistake.

The paper offers an original review and synthesis.

The global competitive environment is increasing the competitiveness for individuals. Each of us needs to have our own individual quality program to increase our personal standards. A modified version of the Baldrige Award Criteria for Excellence is offered as a framework for individuals to use as a basis for personal improvement.

The purpose of this paper is to test empirically two key measurement perspectives – measurements in the context of a theoretical model that predicts/explains results, and measurements in the context of generating an overall score on performance excellence – of the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence (BCPE) using data from Australasian Business Excellence Award applicants.

Two theoretical models corresponding to each measurement perspective were tested using data (n=118) from the applicants for the New Zealand Businesses Excellence Award (based on the BCPE). The partial least squares method was used to test the validity of the measurement items of the BCPE. Qualitative data were also collected from applicants for the Australian Business Excellence Award.

Most of the measurement items showed low levels of measurement validity under both measurement perspectives; the main reason for this was considered to be due to the design of the BCPE as it is a high level of integration and alignment between the various items and categories.

The study is based on a non‐probability sample, although this was unavoidable because the desire was to use data on national business excellence award applicants; such data are rarely available for research purposes.

The paper shows that it is important for organisations to understand the relationships between the various categories/items. Also, the paper indicates that more research should be undertaken in this area to assist organisations to understand the relationships.

The dual measurement perspectives of a BE model (using the same data) has not been tested before, and it is hoped that this study will help academia and the practitioner community to develop more refined performance excellence measures.