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This paper aims to investigate how business excellence (BE) custodians (BECs) design, develop and modify their BE frameworks (BEFs) and to provide a general framework for reviewing BEFs. The design process is important to understand as these BEFs are used to help organisations understand the components of BE to guide them towards world-class performance.

The first step was to identify all the BE awards (BEAs) worldwide and their BEFs by conducting a review of publicly available sources. This research was then limited to only those BEAs that were held no more than two years ago. Of these, 29 BECs (with active BEAs) in 26 countries agreed to participate in the research. Data was collected with the help of a survey and 13 BECs also undertook optional follow-up interviews.

In total, 56 countries and regions have 65 active BEAs with another 17 countries having BE initiatives. The EFQM excellence model and the Baldrige excellence framework are used by 37.7% and 14.5% of BECs worldwide, respectively. In total, 58.3% of the BECs review their BEFs once every three years or sooner, 100% of the BECs are confident in their BEFs’ fundamental concepts and 96.5% in their categories. There are fewer active BEAs now and the use of BE is potentially decreasing which suggests that more effort is required by the BECs in promoting BE.

This research collects data directly from the BECs on how BECs design and develop BEFs and provides a general framework for reviewing BEFs.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether cultural backgrounds of nations are expressed through the web design of their companies. Actually, it investigates whether, in countries characterized by the same cultural matrix and language but by different national backgrounds, the cultural specificities of a country are a critical success factor for web design and enablers of business excellence.

Starting from a deep literature review, four research hypotheses on the relationship between cultural background and web design are formulated. By employing both the content analysis and the cross-tabulation methodology, these hypotheses are tested.

Brazilian, Portuguese, Angolan and Macanese web sites show that companies operating in these countries are aware that cultural background is a necessary success factor to consider for improving cross-cultural management of computer-mediated communication. Indeed, the findings confirm that the internet is not a culturally neutral communication medium. By providing evidences of web site cultural adaptation, this study supports the use of a targeted approach to web site design and provides managerial guidelines for improving business excellence of companies’ online environment.

The paper offers insights into the topic of a culturally adapted computer-mediated communication for improving consumer experience.

To examine the processes used by custodians of business excellence frameworks (BEFs) internationally to review and revise their frameworks, and to present the findings of a review of the design of the Australian business excellence framework (ABEF).

A literature review, three surveys, and a series of focus groups and key informant interviews were conducted. The study involved input from 16 countries and was part of a larger study of how BEFs are designed, reviewed, promoted and deployed within and across nations.

The role of stakeholders in business excellence model design and development, the processes involved in framework review and enhancement, and the frequency of minor and major review activities and who led them are presented. We found there was widespread support for the design of the ABEF amongst stakeholders. This review of the ABEF design and its appropriateness to the Australian business environment are discussed.

While the primary focus was on the Australian context, the findings draw upon a range of international sources and hence are of relevance to all BEF custodians.

The findings from the project were used to redesign the ABEF, and are expected to help inform national business excellence strategies worldwide.

The paper updates the current situation regarding the review of BE frameworks in 16 countries, with a focus on Australia.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the use of business excellence in Asian organisations. The study examines the effectiveness of business excellence in the organisations that adopt it as well as the approaches used to deploy business excellence. Finally, the study investigates the attitudes of organisations with respect to business excellence awards.

A questionnaire survey of 74 organisations across five Asian countries was carried out in order to collect quantitative data. In addition, qualitative data was collected from 21 discussion groups held in all five countries and from 13 interviews held with senior executives of organisations that had won business excellence awards.

The organisations believe that business excellence is important in helping them reach their organisational goals. The results also show that participation in and winning business excellence awards is a key objective for many organisations in the region. However, the region still suffers from some barriers to long‐term commitment to business excellence including lack of development of a business excellence culture, a lack of resources and a failure to fully educate the majority of staff in business excellence.

The study was directed at organisations that were deploying business excellence. It therefore provides an insight into their activities but it does not explore levels of adoption of business excellence in the study countries and consequently, does not investigate reasons for non‐adoption in organisations that have not used business excellence.

National productivity organisations and national award administrators have a crucial role to play in ensuring that Asian organisations are aware of business excellence initiatives and that the necessary support structures and activities to facilitate deployment are made available.

While there are many studies on the adoption of business excellence in western countries, no such studies have been carried out in Asian countries to date. Even in the west, few studies have obtained the views of so many national award winners (30 in this study) and few have investigated the role of the award administrators. Given that the adoption of business excellence in Asia lags western countries, it is important to understand how it has been adopted in Asia and the perceptions of the organisations that have adopted it.

The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a qualitative research study that was designed to examine the application of the management index (MI) to support effectiveness among management teams. Specifically, the research was twofold: to examine the usefulness of the MI as a tool to enhance effectiveness in management teams; and to identify conditions necessary for successful use of the MI.

A three-year multi-site qualitative case study was conducted with five medium- to large-scale organizations, from public and private sectors, to apply and examine the use of the MI. Data were collected from participants during a series of workshops designed to examine the ways in which the tool was used to enhance effectiveness in management teams, and conditions that were determined supportive or a hinder to using the tool.

Findings from the qualitative data demonstrate four primary uses of the in which the MI: pulse reader, navigation, systematic dialog, management team development. It is, however, not clear yet if the use of the MI contributes to improvement in efficiency and effectiveness. The degree of maturity within the organization and teams, as defined by open and transparent communication and clarity of purpose of direction, appear to be key factors for how well teams benefit from the MI. Furthermore, the tool appears to benefit from longer term usage rather than quick-fix usage, although this claim has yet to be validated by further investigations.

The MI was developed by Swedish Institute of Quality to provide a simpler performance measurement tool for management teams to support quality improvement processes in organizations in Sweden. The MI was developed to provide management teams with access to vital information that could serve as the basis for prioritizing areas of needed improvement, while reducing time and complexity associated with traditional business excellence models.

This study contributes to an ongoing dialogue about how to support quality management through the use of performance measurement tools. In particular, the study supports the need to develop understanding about the importance of dialogue and process combined with the use of measures to achieve results.

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.

Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are often perceived as a fertile area for the formation of effective networks. However, research to date has focused primarily on large companies. There seems to be a lack of rigorous research reported in the literature that tests the relationship between networking practices and business excellence. Quantitative data was gathered from a stratified random sample of SME site managers in the Australian manufacturing industry. A total of 550 manufacturing sites were sent the questionnaire from which a response rate of 20 percent was achieved. Networking practices regression (NPR) models were developed in order to test the strength of the relationship between key components of networking practice and several dimensions of business excellence such as success rate of new products, reduction in waste, increased market opportunities, etc. The data was analyzed using techniques available on the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) for Windows software package. The paper concludes that groupings of network practices are required to explain business excellence. This means that a single networking practice is not sufficient to explain business excellence significantly. The most significant networking practices were found to be: searching and incorporating diverse points of view; challenging the status quo; learning from failures; communicating with people outside the company, including experts; allocation of resources to support communication linkages. The main implication of the research results for SME managers is that a typical manufacturing SME is more likely to improve its chances of achieving business excellence with networking practices than without these practices.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the international use of business excellence (BE) models and the practices used by BE framework (BEF) custodians to encourage use.

A literature review, three surveys, a series of focus groups and key informant interviews were conducted. The study involved input from 16 countries and was part of a larger study of how BEFs are designed, reviewed, promoted and deployed within and across nations.

Only two of 16 BEF custodians had a formal measurement system in place to objectively measure the use of BEF by organisations over time. The use of the Australian BEF was lower than previously estimated at 1.3 percent and global use between 4 and 15 percent of organisations. The three most effective practices for assisting organisations in applying BE were tours of best or good practice organisations, publications on BE, and on‐line service/database of BE information.

While the primary focus was on the Australian context, the findings draw upon a range of international sources and hence are of relevance to all BEF custodians.

The findings from the project were used to redesign the ABEF, and are expected to help inform national BE strategies worldwide.

The paper updates the current situation regarding the utilisation of BE in 16 countries, with a focus on Australia.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how quality award‐winning organisations have used lean Six Sigma to assist their efforts to improve their business excellence scores.

This paper uses a case study approach and uses data collected by interviews and at public workshops. In addition, publicly available materials such as award applications were also examined. Two organisations were studied, one in New Zealand and one in the USA.

The results show that lean Six Sigma can contribute strongly to each category of the business criteria for performance excellence. There was no evidence of compatibility problems between the lean and Six Sigma components.

This paper is based on two case studies of award‐winning companies that had adopted lean Six Sigma after a long journey using a wide range of improvement approaches. More work is needed to examine the use of lean Six Sigma in the early stages of the business excellence journey.

Some literature on lean Six Sigma suggests that the tools associated with each component are used in a sequential fashion or dominant/subordinate roles. This research showed that the choice of lean Six Sigma tools by project teams was decided more by the complexity of the project rather than following some particular sequence.

Business excellence awards are common in many parts of the world. Organisations are continually seeking ways to improve their performance and to advance up the scoring scale. This paper shows how two award‐winning companies have harnessed lean Six Sigma to improve their operations and improve their scores.

This study aims to develop a valid and reliable scale for measuring an integrated total quality and socially responsible management (TQSR-M) model, which affects business excellence.

Data were collected through a questionnaire in two phases (first for scale development and second for scale validation purpose) from managers employed in Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) listed companies. The structural equation modeling technique (SEM) was used to develop and validate the measurement and structural model.

This study confirmed the empirical validation of the eight distinct dimensions (top management, strategic planning management, human resource management, supplier management, customer management, social/community management and environmental management) of TQSR-M. Moreover, the validation of the TQSR-M model is further confirmed by testing the relationship between TQSR-M and the hypothetically associated business performance variables through SEM.

The measurement scale helps companies assess the TQSR-M model related to business excellence. It assists managers in identifying the factors for implementing total quality management (TQM) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in their organization for developing TQM and CSR plans, policies and strategies.

This study confirmed that combined TQM-CSR approaches are potential sources of achieving business excellence, sustainable competitive advantages and improving the quality of life of the workforce, local communities and the environment in particular and even of society in general.

Despite such studies exploring the association between TQM and CSR, it remains unclear how the integration of both the concepts develops. Academics and managers lack a tool to measure TQM-CSR together. Therefore, this study integrates both distinct areas of TQM and CSR into a single comprehensive model by developing a measurement scale.