Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of total quality management (TQM) practices at the small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) level within the under‐researched context of the Malaysian economy. Design/methodology/approach – Malaysia is an economy...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the various contributions made by Gurus who have impacted significantly on the theory and practice of total quality management (TQM) over the past 100 years. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses the solid foundation created by the...

Argues that root cause analysis as it is often used is grounded on tools which are weak and confusing. Illustrates this discussion on root cause analysis with examples. Reviews policy and risk in the light of the discussion. Counsels avoidance of the “mythological absolute” of root cause...

Purpose – The food industry in Saudi Arabia is continually challenged by fierce competition from giant international food processing firms. In spite of that, it constantly shows signs of growth as reflected in its exports. The competition is expected to propagate after joining the World Trade...

Knowledge management is important and necessary for the survival of an organisation and its superiority. It can be integrated into the philosophy of total quality management to play a role in the development of the basis of performance of modern organisations. It can be strengthened to achieve...

Purpose – This paper aims to explore current management attitudes towards benchmarking and its implementation within small business‐to‐business service firms in order to enhance a deeper understanding of benchmarking within such contexts. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a scale for infrastructure and core practices, including total quality management (TQM) and Six Sigma practices, in the Indian manufacturing organizations. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, a psychometric systematic...

Purpose – Many studies claim that the implementation of quality management practices and specific information systems can help organizations to improve performance. The objective of this article is to provide insights into current quality management and information systems theory and practice...

Purpose – The paper seeks to understand the adoption rates of total quality management (TQM) by New Zealand firms, and the role that organisational size plays in determining adoption rates. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 997 random New Zealand firms of all sizes yielded 228...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate and compare the moderating effects of the two basic business process change paradigms – business process reengineering (BPR) and total quality management (TQM) – on the business value generated for firms by their information...