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The purpose of this paper is to investigate, by reviewing the literature, the relationship between quality management and business performance with a comparison between manufacturing and service organizations.

This meta‐analytic study critically examines the literature and evaluates the business performance implications of adopting quality management principles in manufacturing and service organizations. Altogether, 14 published research studies were identified that focused on the relationship between quality management and business performance with a comparison between manufacturing and service organizations.

The results show several inconsistencies in previous research when it comes to the relationship between quality management and business performance when comparing manufacturing and service organizations. Some of these inconsistencies concern the principles of supplier relationships, leadership commitment and customer orientation. The inconsistencies can be explained by a number of factors: the difference in size of the organizations included in the studies, the cultural aspect and the research design. Regarding consistencies, two quality management principles stand out in several studies as being more central for service organizations: employee management and process orientation.

The results can provide guidance for service managers aiming to implement quality management. In addition, the paper provides guidance to researchers about methodological issues so that future research can provide more reliable and valid results.

The paper provides a critical review of previous research on what principles of quality management should be adopted in a service organization.

Total quality management (TQM) is a management approach that was established to seek sources of continuous motion of improvement to provide quality products and services to customers or clients. TQM promotes organizational effectiveness through promoting stakeholder satisfaction, pursuing continuous improvement and fostering proactive leadership. The purpose of this paper is to explore TQM practices in secondary schools. The researchers set objectives which were to identify the TQM principles being practiced in secondary schools, the extent to which these principles are practiced and finally to determine the factors that affect the practice of these principles. The paper includes findings from an exploratory study of TQM practices in Zambian secondary schools.

The research employed a purposive and simple random sampling in order to collect data from 120 secondary school teachers from a total of 1,740 secondary school teachers in Lusaka district drawn from ten secondary schools which were stratified into five zones, namely, Lusaka Central, Chilenje, Mumuni, Chibolya and Chunga zones. Questionnaires and structured scheduled interviews were used to collect data for the research. The research was also anchored on the theoretical and conceptual framework where hypotheses were formed and tested.

The research formed hypotheses based on the seven principles of TQM and this was also verified through the analysis of questionnaires and structured interviews conducted. From the analysis and interpretation of the results, the following was found. Teamwork principle was found to be practiced although most respondents did not know the extent to which it was been practiced. Continuous improvement and training are also principles which were explored and found to be practiced. For continuous improvement, most of the respondents indicated this to have been achieved through carrying out monthly tests and end of term examinations to measure the excellence in-service delivery, as for the training principle; this has been interwoven with the policy of the ministry in programmes aimed at training in-service teachers and anticipated teachers. For the commitment principle, there was commitment from management with a view to working together for pupil satisfaction. For the quality principle, it was found that, at 95 per cent confidence level the mission statement, the motto and the vision of the school depicted quality-related activities. The research also established that at 95 per cent confidence level, teachers were empowered to take direct action whenever action is likely to affect quality.

First, the value of this research was to inform management on the need to employ strategies aimed at sensitization programmes before, during and after the programme has come to an end. Second, to promote work attitudes that should promote quality management in education for continuous improvement in pupil performance. Third, for TQM to create a platform among head teachers, teachers, pupils, parents and other stakeholders to work to everyone’s ultimate advantage.

This research is original work as it has never been done before in Lusaka district.

This paper aims to assess the quality management (QM) principles in facilities management (FM) service delivery for office buildings. This is to create a quality culture that will enhance the performance of FM service delivery towards meeting the users' requirements and needs.

This study adopts a quantitative methodology via a questionnaire survey for the data collection. In total, 24.41% of respondents from the registered FM companies in Malaysia attended the survey. SPSS 27.0 was used to interpret the collected data, which were then reviewed through descriptive and inferential analysis.

The study signifies that customer focus, leadership, improvement, evidence-based decision-making and relationship management indicate positive connections with FM service delivery in ensuring a cost-effective working process and meeting both user requirements and legal and regulatory corporate compliance. There are 18 elements of strategic, people and structural barriers that may hinder the implementation of QM in the FM service delivery. Correspondingly, the five main key enablers suggested being teamwork and participation, leadership, continuous improvement, process management and resources and competency development-based enablers.

The study was conducted during the pandemic crisis with limited access and response from participants. However, this in-depth study was still able to synthesize the imperative QM practice in FM among FM practitioners in Malaysia.

This study provides insight into the implementation of QM principles to cultivate a quality culture that will enhance the performance and productivity in FM service delivery specifically for office buildings in Malaysia. Prior to this study, there was a lack of research pertaining to these two themes: QM and FM.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how a quality profile can evolve over time and, in particular, how different kinds of interventions can further develop or change an existing quality profile.

Data was collected over a five‐year period, including a literature review, interviews, a document study and observations to capture the quality profile and associated interventions. The study was carried out in a service organisation in the public sector.

This study shows that the quality profile can change over time due to the use of specific interventions. If a company wants to emphasise a specific quality principle, it must target the quality principle with one or more interventions. However, even if a quality principle is targeted, there is no guarantee that the quality principle will show improvement in the quality profile. Also, one main finding is that the quality profile becomes more even over time due to the internal consistency of the quality principles.

This paper sheds light on the need to study the adoption of individual quality principles and the evolution of the quality profile of an organisation.

The results can provide insights for organisations aiming to embark on a quality programme, specifically how to design and develop a quality profile.

This research implies that the quality profile is a recurring, general phenomenon in all quality management improvement programmes. In other words, successful implementation of quality management requires a cohesive quality profile.

This research seeks to identify the specific leadership competencies required for implementing Total Quality Management (TQM); to examine the influence of leadership competencies for implementing individual TQM principles; and to examine the relationship of the TQM implementation principles with TQM outcomes among the Thai manufacturing companies with different levels of leadership competencies.

Data have been collected from 265 ISO 9000‐certified companies in the Thai manufacturing industry to examine the validity and reliability of the leadership competencies construct; nine TQM implementation constructs (top management commitment, supplier quality management, continuous improvement, product innovation, benchmarking, employee involvement, reward and recognition, education and training, and customer focus); and one outcome construct (product quality). The findings are cross‐validated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Step‐wise regression methods have been used to identify the influence of leadership competencies for implementing TQM principles.

This research confirms the necessity for top management to perform as leaders for implementing TQM. Companies with high leadership competencies execute each of the nine TQM principles more effectively and are able to produce higher quality products. This research also finds that the relationships of TQM implementation constructs and the outcome construct (product quality) are not same in the different contexts of leadership competencies. The predictors of product quality in the context of high leadership competencies are: customer focus; continuous improvement; employee involvement; and supplier quality management. The predictors of product quality in companies with low leadership competencies are top management commitment; customer focus; and product innovation.

The present study used only product quality as the outcome of TQM efforts, but the outcome of TQM is not limited only to product quality. TQM is also related to other organizational performance variables, namely – customer satisfaction, employee morale, delivery, productivity, cash flow, and sales growth. Future research should be extended by using other performance variables as the outcome of TQM.

It is believed that this research reveals new insights about the manufacturing sector of Thailand. This research also has managerial and research implications for designing and formulating operations strategy for implementing TQM.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the maturity of quality management and digital innovation in an organisation. Furthermore, the purpose is to analyse the relationship between and learning opportunities of the two concepts based on that maturity.

An explorative case study was carried out by conducting in‐depth interviews with both quality management and IT professionals, complemented with a document study.

The findings of this research show the maturity of quality management and digital innovation in an organization using a set of principles. The analysis shows that, on an overall level, the majority of the principles studied concerning quality management and digital innovation are categorized as “uncommitted” or “initiators”. The study shows that there is an interrelationship between quality management and digital innovation and they are dependent on each other.

This is a case study and focuses on one context where the interrelationship between quality management and digital innovation is studied.

The results can provide insights on the importance of working cross‐functionally when developing the organisation. The maturity of quality management in an organisation can either inhibit or facilitate digital innovation, and similarly, digital innovation can improve or deteriorate service quality for both internal and external customers.

This study contributes to the service quality literature by empirically investigating the maturity of quality management and digital innovation, and discussing how they can relate and what they can learn from each other.

The aim of this paper is to analyse how critical incidents or organisational crises can be used to check and legitimise quality management change efforts in relation to the fundamental principles of quality.

Multiple case studies analyse critical incidents that demonstrate the importance of legitimisation, normative evaluation and conflict constructs in this process. A theoretical framework composed of these constructs is used to guide the analysis.

The cases show that the critical incidents leading to the legitimisation of continuous improvement (CI) were diverse. However all resulted in the need for significant ongoing cost reduction to achieve or retain competitiveness. In addition, attempts at legitimising CI were coupled with attempts at destabilising the existing normative practice. This destabilisation process, in some cases, advocated supplementing the existing approaches and in others replacing them. In all cases, significant conflict arose in these legitimising and normative evaluation processes.

It is suggested that further research could involve a critical analysis of existing quality models, tools and techniques in relation to how they incorporate, and are built upon, fundamental quality management principles. Furthermore, such studies could probe the dangers of quality curriculum becoming divorced from business and market reality and thus creating a parallel existence.

As demonstrated by the case studies, models, tools and techniques are not valued for their intrinsic value but rather for what they will contribute to addressing the business needs. Thus, in addition to being an opportunity for quality management, critical incidents present a challenge to the field. Quality management must be shown to make a contribution in these circumstances.

This paper is of value to both academics and practitioners.

The authors’ thesis statement is that the literature on quality management in higher education is evolving towards an idea of integration. Considering Part 1 of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) (ENQA, 2009) to be a framework for the implementation of quality management practices in universities, the purpose of this paper is to understand whether the ESG represent a truly integrated quality management model.

The authors analyse the content of the ESG taking into account three levels of analysis: the process level, the organisational level and the quality management principles level.

The analysis shows that the ESG are a quality management model, covering different processes, organisational levels and quality management principles. This is despite not being a truly integrated quality management model. Indeed, the ESG are mainly focussed on teaching and learning and on support processes, neglecting other processes of universities, such as research and scholarship and the third mission. In addition, they leave aside quality management principles more directly linked with a systemic and holistic approach to quality, such as the system approach principle.

The paper presents a new analysis of a much discussed quality management model for higher education. It explores the ESG in the light of the concept of integration, discussed according to a new framework of analysis. It also highlights the importance of a broader reflection on these standards and of their integration in the management systems of institutions.

Continuous improvement has become an important strategy in improving organizational performance. Unfortunately, product development is often excluded in continuous improvement programs due to the special characteristics of product development activities. The overall purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of continuous improvement in the context of product development.

A central aspect in this context is that many organizations find it difficult to improve and learn if work is carried out in the form of projects. In this paper, a quality perspective on continuous improvement is introduced and its usefulness is tested empirically through three case studies in Swedish organizations. The focus is on the improvement programs used and the quality principles displayed in a product development context.

The results show that the three investigated organizations have multiple improvement programs, but that some configurations of improvement programs seem to be more successful than others. For instance, co‐ordination of multiple improvement programs, scope creep, and separating between product development processes and project management models are important success factors for continuous improvement. In addition, an introduction of an improvement program without adoption of a critical mass of quality principles is doomed to fail.

The research initiative is one of the first to conduct an empirical investigation of how organizations design and work with improvement programs in the context of product development. It provides knowledge to both academics and practitioners on how organizations can design and implement initiatives on quality management, especially in the context of product development.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the TQM readiness level of Yemeni Organizations. In addition, this study compares the level of readiness between the various Yemeni organizations.

Based on the TQM literature, related and relevant information had been gathered to develop an assessment tool used in this research. The main content of the assessment focused on statements related to the most common TQM principles. Data were collected by an assessment team and analyzed using quantitative methods to answer the related research questions.

The analysis results showed some of the TQM principles were being practiced by Yemeni organizations, to some extent, and with variant levels. The most widely practiced principle was customer focus, and the lowest principle practiced was continuous improvement. Also, the data showed the level of TQM readiness in Yemeni organizations was 58.93 percent. This level of TQM readiness indicates there is a potential for successful adoption of quality management standards and models in Yemeni organizations.

This study extends previous limited research in TQM readiness level measurement. It also adds to the body of TQM knowledge within the context of Yemen. In addition, this study contributes to the understanding of TQM implementation in an least developed countries (LDC) environment, where LDC organizational culture has its particularities on implementing TQM.

This paper contributes to a better understanding of TQM in an LDC country, which is Yemen. The paper points out which of the TQM principles are important to potential adoption of quality management standards and models. This study could further expand research, regarding the TQM in Yemen.