Future research avenues of cost of quality : a systematic literature review

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the future research suggestions which have been made by several authors with regard to cost of quality (CoQ) and to group them into respective themes. Design/methodology/approach: This study was based on a systematic literature review (SLR) of 97 peer-reviewed journal articles in the field of CoQ published in well-known academic databases, such as Emerald, Elsevier, SpringerLink, Taylor & Francis, Wiley and Scopus. The time horizon for reviewing the literature was 9 years, particularly in the period between 2010 and 2018. The “Affinity diagram” was applied to group the future research suggestions into logical themes and the “Pareto diagram” to further categorize and prioritize these themes. Findings: A plethora of future research suggestions identified in the literature are analytically presented. Moreover, the analysis showed that the future research suggestions in the field of CoQ can be grouped under eleven meaningful themes, which are further categorized into two broad categories, meaning the vital and the useful. Research limitations/implications: This SLR was based on only fully accessed English articles published in international, peer-reviewed journals of the selected publishers. The restricted number of keywords used and the subjectivity in applying the “affinity diagram” are also limitations of this study. Practical implications: This paper provides insights into the future research perspectives in the field of CoQ. Thus, this analysis can serve as a resource for both researchers and practitioners to further develop this area according to the future research suggestions and the respective themes revealed. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first SLR presenting and analyzing the future research suggestions of CoQ.