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Organizations wishing to implement TQM face unavoidable profound changes in performance measurement and are in need of guidance and better understanding of the role of different performance measurement methods and systems. The objective of this paper is therefore to provide guidance for future TQM adopters through investigation of existing practices implemented by a group of finalists in the total quality category of Canada Awards for Business Excellence. Especially the usage and perceived appropriateness of different methods are of interest.

A sample of finalists in the total quality category of Canada Awards for Business Excellence was surveyed. The data were collected either through in‐depth personal interviews or by mail/phone using a questionnaire. Next, descriptive statistical techniques were used to analyze the data. T‐statistic tests were performed in order to determine the significance of the results.

Regarding the extent of use and appropriateness of the traditional and TQM‐related performance measures (PMs) and systems/methods (PMS) found in TQM environment, the findings reported that PMs and PMS, used and considered appropriate by TQM adopters, are predominantly process‐oriented (process sequence flow charts, Pareto chart, cause and effect diagram), long‐term‐oriented (market research/customer survey, percentage of sales from new products and absolute market share), and customer‐oriented (number of complaints, percentage on‐time delivery, overall customer satisfaction).

The small sample limited exclusively to finalists in the total quality category of Canada Awards for Business Excellence may be a limitation.

This research provides guidance for companies considering implementation of TQM or in the process of adopting TQM with regard to the design of a performance measurement system that would support their TQM efforts successfully.

This research is looking at extent of use of performance measures and methods and at their perceived appropriateness by TQM adopters at the same time. Thanks to this approach it provides valuable insights into performance measurement in TQM both for academics and for practitioners.

The paper seeks to focus on the concept of total quality management (TQM) in a specific sector: the food sector. The purpose of this paper is to factorize the TQM concept by analyzing the TQM practices implemented and the results achieved from implementing such practices. It also aims to determine the means by which the quality management results are optimized.

A research project was carried out in 92 Greek food companies that were certified to ISO 9001:2000 and ELOT 1416 standard (hazard analysis critical control points, HACCP system certification). The data collection method used in this study was that of the questionnaire. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied to assess the reliability and validity of the latent constructs/factors (unobserved variables) of the TQM practices implemented and the respective results. The latent constructs/factors that had significant impact on the results achieved were determined through multiple linear regression analyses.

The analysis revealed four latent constructs/factors regarding the TQM practices and three latent constructs/factors regarding the results achieved through implementing such practices. According to the findings, a company's quality improvement is equally influenced by the adoption of quality practices by the top management as well as process and data quality management. A company's quality improvement was found to be the factor that primarily contributes to customer satisfaction, while the customer focus is proved to be of secondary significance. Finally, the findings showed that market benefits are derived from customer satisfaction and a company's internal quality improvement.

The small sample size of the food companies participating in this study, the observed variables that were removed from the analysis for the benefit of the measurement model validity (convergent and discriminant) and finally the subjective character of the data collected are the limitations of the present study. However, these limitations suggest future research orientations.

The determination of reliable and valid latent constructs/factors of the TQM practices implemented may help food companies to focus their efforts in specific directions, in order to build and implement a robust TQM model. Furthermore, detecting reliable and valid latent constructs/factors of the results achieved through TQM practices implementation may motivate the food companies to strengthen their efforts in broadening their management system towards the TQM philosophy and business excellence. This may help food companies withstand the current business downturn.

The paper describes in a reliable and valid manner a framework that consists of the main pillars of the TQM practices implemented and the results achieved in a specific sector: the food sector.

The purpose of this study is to assess how differences in national culture influence the impact of investments in manufacturing practices on operational performance. The paper addresses the following research question: does national culture affect the efficacy of investments in manufacturing practices?

Hofstede's model of national culture is used to test whether there are operational performance differences when organisations in different cultural contexts invest in identical manufacturing practices. The research question is explored and answered by assessing the moderating role of national culture using ordinary least square analysis.

The results suggest that some dimensions of national culture significantly moderate the impact of investments in manufacturing practices on manufacturing performance.

This study represents a comprehensive attempt to explain differences in the impact of manufacturing practices investments on operational performance improvements in terms of cultural differences.

Given the positive organizational principles associated with total quality management (TQM) – customer focus, continuous improvement, and process management – one would assume TQM's application is universally beneficial across businesses. Generally, research supports that notion. However, given resource limitations and shallow management teams in small businesses, there are multiple challenges in implementing TQM in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Therefore, small business leaders should benefit from knowledge linking other management practices to TQM’s positive effect on small firm performance, which enhances these leaders' return on TQM investment.

The authors apply partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to explore TQM’s effect on small business performance and how other management practices enhance that relationship. Specifically, the authors explore how a comprehensive strategic approach (CSA) – a higher-order construct consisting of strategic planning, goal setting, and financial ratio analysis – moderates the relationship between TQM and small business performance. Given the complexity of the authors' model, the application of higher-order constructs, and the exploratory nature of this work, PLS-SEM is well suited for this study.

Consistent with prior research, the authors found that TQM (also a higher-order construct, consisting of seven lower-order constructs) positively impacts small firm performance. In addition, the authors found that CSA positively moderates the relationship between TQM and financial performance.

TQM’s effect on small business performance is enhanced when leaders implement a CSA. In other words, when small business leaders strategically plan, set goals, and analyze financial ratios, TQM's positive effect on firm performance is enhanced. This finding provides business leaders insights for how to maximize the TQM investment return.

Literature refers to the key factors of total quality management (TQM) based on studies carried out in individual countries. However, few studies focus on studying the TQM factors in service companies based on multinational data. The purpose of this paper is to empirically identify the key TQM factors and their impact on internal and external customer performance measures across different countries.

The research questions regarding the TQM factors and their effects were examined using a sample of service organisations from three countries (131 from Greece, 70 from Mexico and 151 from Spain). TQM factors and their impact on employee and customer satisfaction were analysed separately for each country. Exploratory factor analyses, coupled with multiple linear regression analyses, were conducted.

The key TQM factors identified are common among the three participating countries and can be summarised as follows: quality practices of top management, process management, employee quality management, customer focus, and employee knowledge and education. The adoption level of these five key factors of TQM varies across service organisations in different countries. The results also confirmed that some of the TQM elements are antecedents of customer- and employee-focused performance.

Multinational service organisations may use such an instrument to evaluate TQM implementation among worldwide operations and then benchmark their performance. In addition, an understanding of similarities and differences among countries would help managers around the world to address difficulties of TQM implementation related to the country culture.

Previous studies have compared key TQM factors across different countries in manufacturing, but overall, there has been a little attempt in the literature to analyse the adoption of TQM factors among service firms, as well the relationships between quality improvement and performance across different geographical regions.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and quality performance in Indian service companies.

The empirical data was collected using a self‐administered instrument that was distributed to 600 Indian service companies. Of the 600 instrument e‐mailed, 172 usable instrument were returned, yielding a response rate of 28.6 per cent. A stratified sampling procedure was utilized to obtain the minimum sample size of 600 from the four chosen service industries (i.e. Healthcare, Banking, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and Hospitality). The data was analyzed using factor, Pearson's correlation, and multiple regression analyses.

The findings revealed that TQM practices were found to be partially correlated with quality performance of the Indian service companies. It was also found that quality culture was perceived as the dominant TQM practice in quality performance. The other practices such as quality systems, training and education, teamwork, and benchmarking showed a positive relationship with quality performance.

The research paper was limited by including only four industries in the selection of service companies in India, making this a possibly biased selection and it may not be adequate to generalize the results for the entire Indian service companies.

The study has contributed to the TQM literature with a better understanding of the 17 TQM practices and their association with a company's quality performance that will provide valuable knowledge to top‐management of service companies, to refine their current TQM practices and subsequently improve quality performance.

Construction companies play a vital role in the development of any country. The objective of the study is to evaluate the influence of leadership and quality culture (QC) on quality management (QM) practices and operational performance (OP).

The questionnaire method was used to collect raw data from 325 construction companies in Oman. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to evaluate the measurement, model reliability and validity. The relationship between the latent constructs was investigated by Partial Least Square – Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).

The findings indicate that, leadership significantly affected QM practices and OP. Moreover, while the QC has significantly influenced QM practices, QC had not influenced OP. One reason is the lack of knowledge of the employee that the quality procedures have the power to reduce rework, waste, and decrease the project's period. And the study found that the QM practices have significantly influenced OP.

The limitation of this research is that some construction companies have no quality assurance leaders in the project; therefore, the questionnaires were circulated to project managers or project management leaders and that negatively affect the quality of data collecting from the responses. Eventually, the framework is considered to be the main contribution and is recommended for usage in the project. This study gives guidelines for leadership and leadership's accountabilities to provide a keen decision that to improve OP and to ensure the competence of employees.

The limitation of this research is that some construction companies have no quality assurance leaders in the project and so the questionnaires were circulated to project managers or project management leaders, which could influence the value of the responses. Eventually, the framework appeared to be the main contribution to awareness and is recommended for use to ensure a successful construction project in both the public and private sectors. The current study lays out some relevant roles for leadership and its accountabilities to provide a keen decision to improve OP and to ensure the competence of employees.

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate total quality service (TQS) from employees’ perspective, as they have direct contact with both customers and management. The study is descriptive and exploratory in nature.

The data were collected from 195 frontline employees of a leading Indian private sector bank. The study is confined to that bank's branches operating in a northern city of India.

The study reveals that though employees have made serious contributions towards the success of TQS, bank policies do not leave much scope for their autonomy and management lags in its efforts in implementing TQS properly. SEM analysis indicates that TQS has a significant impact on employees’ organizational commitment.

TQS is a systematic way of guaranteeing that all activities within an organization happen as per plan and meet the customers’ expectations. TQS aids the service marketers in the task of establishing and maintaining the customer base, which is the greatest challenge in today's competitive world. In this context, the present study seeks to evaluate the overall TQS prevalent in banking services.

With the increasing concern over environmental pollution and global warming, companies are required to act responsibly to mitigate these environmental issues. Their activities should adhere to the standards of environmental sustainability. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the impact of green supply chain management (GSCM) and total quality management (TQM) on environmental sustainability, with environmental management practices (EMP) as the moderating factor.

A quantitative study was adopted using the management data from various manufacturing companies in Jordan. A total of 362 responses were collected, and the proposed hypotheses were tested using a structural equation model.

The study findings revealed that both GSCM and TQM significantly and positively influenced environmental sustainability. The impact of TQM on environmental sustainability was higher than that of GSCM. Moreover, no evidence was found on the moderating role of EMP.

The study’s results highlighted to the decision-makers the main practices to expand the quality implementation across their supply chain to improve environmental sustainability. The study also demonstrated the reasons behind the insignificance of EMPs in strengthening the relationships between GSCM, TQM, and environmental sustainability.

While there are very few studies examining the relationships between GSCM and TQM on environmental sustainability. This study adds to the literature body as one of a few empirical studies that tested the integrated effect of GSCM and TQM practices within the context of the manufacturing industry in a developing country. Moreover, this study takes a holistic approach by tapping into EMP to confirm whether it moderated the relationships between GSCM, TQM, and environmental sustainability.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the effective implementation of both ISO 9001 and ISO 22000 systems on the competitive performance of certified food manufacturing companies.

A survey instrument was used for quantitative data collection. All items were measured on a seven‐point modified Likert scale. The data were analysed statistically by means of Statistical Package for Social Scientists. Factor analysis and multiple regression analysis were conducted to test the research hypotheses. Both validity and reliability of the measures were checked in order to reduce the measurement error.

The results show a positive and significant relationship between the combined effective implementation of ISO 9001 and ISO 22000 standards and competitive performance of certified food companies, explaining a significant proportion of variance in their performance.

The results of this study help managers of food companies realize that both the effective implementation of the quality management and quality safety systems ISO 9001 and ISO 22000 lead to increased competitive performance for certified companies. Thus, the paper may motivate the non‐certified food companies to effectively adopt the principles and conform to the requirements of these standards, leading to enhanced manufacturing capabilities and competitive performance.

This paper highlights the influence of quality and food safety management systems on the competitive performance of the certified food manufacturing companies. It reveals the value of the combined effective implementation of ISO 22000 and ISO 9001:2000 systems, proving that, when effectively implemented, they have a favourable effect on companies' performance.