Total quality management: An empirical test for mediation effect

This study reviews empirical studies of total quality management (TQM) and has identified four different approaches of examining TQM practices-performance relationships. It reveals that a consensus on how TQM practices affect quality performance has yet to emerge. Based on their findings, some researchers conclude that 'supportive' practices can bring quality improvement, while some indicate that 'core' practices do. To add to the complexity, some support both. The current study seeks to examine the relationship between supportive and core TQM practices and their direct and indirect effects on quality performance. A mediation model was hypothesized and tested by hierarchical multiple regression based on a sample of 25 electronics companies in Hong Kong. In general, the survey study gives further support for the interdependent nature of TQM practices. The results showed that the effect of training and employee relations on quality performance might be largely transmitted by certain core quality management practices. In particular, it suggests that core TQM practices mediate the effect of supportive TQM practices on quality performance when the practices are taken as two integrated factors. Both researchers and practitioners are advised to consider the interdependencies of supportive and core factors when assessing the impact of any new technology or new management technique on an organization.

[1]  Sanjay L. Ahire,et al.  Development and Validation of TQM Implementation Constructs , 1996 .

[2]  L. James,et al.  Mediators, Moderators, and Tests for Mediation. , 1984 .

[3]  D. Gerwin,et al.  Withdrawal of team autonomy during concurrent engineering , 1997 .

[4]  Jaideep Motwani,et al.  Quality Practices of Indian Organizations: : An Empirical Analysis , 1994 .

[5]  J. Fleiss,et al.  Intraclass correlations: uses in assessing rater reliability. , 1979, Psychological bulletin.

[6]  M. Terziovski,et al.  The relationship between total quality management practices and operational performance , 1999 .

[7]  R. Schroeder,et al.  A THEORY OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT UNDERLYING THE DEMING MANAGEMENT METHOD , 1994 .

[8]  S. S. Rao,et al.  A Framework for International Quality Management Research: Development and Validation of a Measurement Instrument , 1999 .

[9]  P. Herbig,et al.  Total Quality and the Human Resource Professional , 1994 .

[10]  Roberto Filippini,et al.  TQM impact on quality conformance and customer satisfaction: A causal model , 1998 .

[11]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[12]  Donald Davis,et al.  A STUDY OF MEASURING THE CRITICAL FACTORS OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT , 1995 .

[13]  L. J. Porter,et al.  Identification of the Critical Factors of TQM , 1996 .

[14]  Ruth Leung,et al.  Survey on Deming’s TQM philosophies implementation in Hong Kong , 1999 .

[15]  Roger G. Schroeder,et al.  The Impact of Quality Management Practices on Performance and Competitive Advantage , 1995 .

[16]  P Carayon,et al.  Macroergonomics and total quality management: how to improve quality of working life? , 1999, International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics : JOSE.

[17]  Adrian John Wilkinson,et al.  The other side of quality: 'soft' issues and the human resource dimension , 1992 .

[18]  Jayant V. Saraph,et al.  An Instrument for Measuring the Critical Factors of Quality Management , 1989 .

[19]  M. Noon,et al.  Negotiating quality the case of TQM in Royal Mail , 1995 .

[20]  Roberto Filippini,et al.  A replication study of a theory of quality management underlying the Deming management method: insights from an Italian context , 1998 .

[21]  Thomas Y. Choi,et al.  The TQM Paradox: Relations among TQM practices, plant performance, and customer satisfaction , 1998 .

[22]  T. C. Powell Total Quality Management as Competitive Advantage , 1995 .

[23]  A. Saks Longitudinal field investigation of the moderating and mediating effects of self-efficacy on the relationship between training and newcomer adjustment. , 1995, The Journal of applied psychology.

[24]  Lawrence M. Corbett,et al.  An international study of quality improvement approach and firm performance , 1997 .

[25]  S. Ahire,et al.  Quality management in TQM versus non‐TQM firms: an empirical investigation , 1996 .

[26]  Hesan A. Quazi,et al.  Critical factors in quality management and guidelines for self-assessment: The case of Singapore , 1998 .

[27]  Vincent G. Duffy,et al.  An empirical analysis of effective TQM implementation in the Hong Kong electronics manufacturing industry , 1999 .

[28]  John C. Anderson,et al.  A Path Analytic Model of a Theory of Quality Management Underlying the Deming Management Method: Preliminary Empirical Findings* , 1995 .

[29]  M. Bradley,et al.  Starting Total Quality Management from ISO 9000 , 1994 .

[30]  Timothy T. Baldwin,et al.  TRANSFER OF TRAINING: A REVIEW AND DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH , 1988 .

[31]  Gavriel Salvendy,et al.  The impact of organizational ergonomics on work effectiveness: with special reference to concurrent engineering in manufacturing industries , 1999 .

[32]  Lori Meiskey,et al.  Skill Maintenance: Literature Review and Theoretical Analysis , 1988 .