Quality management practices and their relationship to buyer’s supplier ratings: a study in the Korean automotive industry

Abstract This research explores if quality management practices are different among suppliers whose performance is rated high, medium, or low by a common buying company and identifies which specific practices contribute to the differences. The entire population of first-tier suppliers to a Korean auto assembler was surveyed to measure use of quality management practices. Useable returns were received from 25% of the suppliers surveyed. To measure conformance quality and overall rating, suppliers were categorized into high, medium, and low performing groups based on the buying company’s data. Multivariate analysis of variance was done using general linear model (GLM-MANOVA) to explore differences in the high-, medium-, and low-performing supplier groups based on their use of quality management practices. No statistically significant differences were found when suppliers were categorized based on conformance quality. However, when categorized based on overall rating, the highest rated suppliers were found to emphasize process management and employee satisfaction to a greater degree than the lowest rated suppliers.

[1]  E. Anderson,et al.  The Antecedents and Consequences of Customer Satisfaction for Firms , 1993 .

[2]  Gary W. Dickson,et al.  AN ANALYSIS OF VENDOR SELECTION SYSTEMS AND DECISIONS , 1966 .

[3]  W. C. Benton,et al.  Vendor selection criteria and methods , 1991 .

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

[5]  Everett E. Adam,et al.  Alternative quality improvement practices and organization performance , 1994 .

[6]  S. Ahire,et al.  The role of top management commitment in quality management: an empirical analysis of the auto parts industry , 1998 .

[7]  D. Garvin.  How the Baldrige Award really works. , 1991, Harvard business review.

[8]  A. Meyer,et al.  Lasting Improvements in Manufacturing Performance: In Search of a New Theory , 1990 .

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

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

[11]  Thomas Y. Choi,et al.  An exploration of supplier selection practices across the supply chain , 1996 .

[12]  S. Ahire,et al.  The impact of design management and process management on quality: an empirical investigation , 2000 .

[13]  David W. Gerbing,et al.  An Updated Paradigm for Scale Development Incorporating Unidimensionality and Its Assessment , 1988 .

[14]  H. Kaiser.  A second generation little jiffy , 1970 .

[15]  J. Nunnally.  Psychometric Theory (2nd ed), New York: McGraw-Hill. , 1978 .

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

[17]  Carol Reeves,et al.  DEFINING QUALITY: ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS , 1994 .

[18]  D. Larcker,et al.  The Performance Effects of Process Management Techniques , 1997 .

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

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

[21]  Roger G. Schroeder,et al.  Determinants of Quality Performance in High- and Low-Quality Plants , 1995 .

[22]  R. Handfield,et al.  Use of ISO 9000 and Baldrige Award Criteria in Supplier Quality Evaluation , 1996 .

[23]  Jeffrey H. Dyer,et al.  Strategic Supplier Segmentation: The Next “Best Practice” in Supply Chain Management , 1998 .

[24]  J. Dean,et al.  MANAGEMENT THEORY AND TOTAL QUALITY: IMPROVING RESEARCH AND PRACTICE THROUGH THEORY DEVELOPMENT , 1994 .

[25]  K. B. Hendricks,et al.  Does Implementing an Effective TQM Program Actually Improve Operating Performance? Empirical Evidence from Firms That Have Won Quality Awards , 1997 .

[26]  W. Ouchi,et al.  JAPANESE-STYLE PARTNERSHIPS -- GIVING COMPANIES A COMPETITIVE EDGE. , 1993 .

[27]  Graeme P. Maxton,et al.  Driving over a Cliff?: Business Lessons from the World's Car Industry , 1995 .

[28]  Mark Gershon,et al.  Which TQM Practices Really Matter: An Empirical Investigation , 1997 .

[29]  Lane Kelley,et al.  Business Strategy: An Asia Pacific Focus , 1997 .

[30]  Robert D. Laurent,et al.  Is there a role for gold in monetary policy , 1994 .

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

[32]  L. Forker,et al.  Factors affecting supplier quality performance , 1997 .

[33]  Roger G. Schroeder,et al.  A FRAMEWORK FOR QUALITY MANAGEMENT RESEARCH AND AN ASSOCIATED MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENT , 1994 .

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

[35]  James R. Evans,et al.  The management and control of quality , 1989 .