Towards a theory-driven research agenda in six sigma quality innovation : linking research opportunities with organization theory typology

Implementations of Six Sigma quality innovation (SSQI) have resulted in performance benefits for several leading firms. While SSQI has its roots in the foundations of Total Quality Management (TQM) and ISO 9000 certification, it presents a set of unique organizational practices and ideas that provide an opportunity for interesting and important investigations of relevance to operations and supply chain management. With a few notable exceptions, the academic literature in operations management has not given sufficient attention to various aspects of SSQI. In this paper, we identify some potential areas for future research and develop research questions pertaining to these areas. We call for theory-driven investigations by presenting a framework for linking SSQI research issues with appropriate theoretical perspectives. Using the unit of analysis and the various perspectives for managerial action as a basis, the typology presents six categories of organization theories. The typology provides a convenient basis for categorizing the research issues in SSQI based on their underlying theoretical rationale. We use the linkages between the research issues in SSQI and the theoretical perspectives to develop research propositions that could potentially aid and instigate theory-driven research studies in quality innovation.