Total quality management 4.0: adapting quality management to Industry 4.0

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabiane Florencio de Souza ◽  
Alana Corsi ◽  
Regina Negri Pagani ◽  
Giles Balbinotti ◽  
João Luiz Kovaleski

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to explore the new concept of TQM 4.0 as a way of adapting quality management (QM) in Industry 4.0 (I4.0), guiding industries to this new phase, which has generated adaptations in numerous areas, one of which is QM and human resources.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of the literature was carried out. Methodi Ordinatio was applied to build the portfolio of articles with scientific relevance, which is the source of data collections and content analysis. To help out in the analysis, NVivo 12 and VOSviewer software programs were used.FindingsThe results demonstrate that when adapting the QM to the technologies of I4.0, the result is an ecosystem that supports the integration between technology, quality and people in the industrial scenario.Research limitations/implicationsThis article presents a systematic review of the literature, but without delving into specific issues such as the different industrial sectors and the culture of countries in which industries may be inserted, for example, which characterizes a limitation of this research.Practical implicationsThis study provides an ecosystem model that can guide future research, regarding the concept of TQM 4.0, in addition to pointing out some ways of combining technologies, quality and people in the industrial context.Originality/valueThis is one of the first articles to employ a systematic review of the literature using Methodi Ordinatio to build a bibliographic panorama on the intertwining of the themes total QM (TQM) and I4.0, focusing on the emerging concept of TQM 4.0.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Afef Saihi ◽  
Mahmoud Awad ◽  
Mohamed Ben-Daya

PurposeQuality 4.0 is an emerging research topic concerned with rethinking how quality management needs to be adopted in the digital era. The purpose of this research is to conduct a systematic review on the state of the research in the field of Industry 4.0 impact on improving quality management aspects and how technology can be leveraged to enhance its practices.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of the literature published in the last 5 years is conducted. 52 papers were selected, mapped based on the technology they focused on and categorized based on the addressed quality aspects.FindingsThe review revealed various areas where quality management can benefit from Industry 4.0 technologies, identified several research gaps and suggested new directions for future research. Firstly, the literature provided some insights about industry 4.0 potential contributions but lacks further detail on the exact applications and solutions through use cases and case studies. Secondly, there has been a focus on the potential benefits provided for quality control while there is a clear scarcity in terms of the other quality management tools and methodologies. Thirdly, there is a lack of studies on economic analysis or detailed impacts on quality costs that justifies the substantial investments needed. Finally, there is a need for including more studies about the mapping and integration of ISO 9001 requirements and Industry 4.0 features.Originality/valueThis is the first attempt to conduct a comprehensive review on the ways industry 4.0 technologies can be leveraged for the field of quality management. Based on this review, several directions for further research in this area are identified.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 499-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uche Nwabueze

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to delineate the factors responsible for the decline of total quality management (TQM) in the National Health Service (NHS). It is suggested that if these factors were initially identified and eliminated prior to implementation, the decline of TQM as a strategy for improving the provision and delivery of quality patient care could have been prevented. Design/methodology/approach – The case study approach was chosen because it is the preferred method when “how” or “what” questions are being posed. It is applicable as is evident in this paper where the researcher has little control over events and when the focus is on a contemporary phenomenon within some real-life context. The case study enables the researcher to give an accurate rendition of actual events; it contributes uniquely to the knowledge of individual, organisational, social, and political phenomena. The semi-structured face-to-face interview constituted the main data collection technique of the research. Interviews were held with 23 quality management managers in the British NHS. The central focus of the interview was on “what” factors contributed to the rapid decline of TQM in the NHS. The respondents were chosen because they were directly involved with the implementation of TQM. They were in the vintage position to offer a full insight into the TQM initiative. The analysis of the case is based on Yin's analytic technique of explanation building. Findings – The decline of TQM in the NHS could have been prevented if top executives in hospitals had adopted the sequential steps to quality improvement: In the authors opinion, to land a man on the moon needed a belief in the possibility and breakthrough in the attitudes that viewed space travel as pure science fiction as opposed to a practical reality, and so it should have been with TQM in the NHS. However, the attitude of many NHS managers was that TQM was all right for “other institutions” because “they need it” whereas in the NHS, “we don’t”. This negative attitude should have been overcome if TQM was to be accepted as a corporate, all encompassing philosophy. Research limitations/implications – The limitation of the research may be the sample size of the respondents, which was limited to 23 quality managers that had hands-on experience and the leadership role to lead and implement TQM in the NHS. Future research may consider a broader sample size. It may also be considered for new research to use surveys to identify a broader set of reasons why TQM declined in the NHS. Practical implications – This paper is the first constructive insight to determine reasons for the decline of TQM in the NHS from the individuals who had the sole responsibility for implementation. Any other, group would have amounted to hearsay. Therefore, to constructively delineate the reasons for failure, it was pertinent to learn from the quality managers directly and to ensure that the reasons was representative of their experiences with TQM. The practical implication is to prepare future managers about how to avoid failure. Originality/value – The paper clearly suggests the systematic process required for effective implementation of TQM in a healthcare setting by identifying factors that must be avoided to ensure the successful and sustainable implementation of TQM.


Author(s):  
Shweta Bajaj ◽  
Ruchi Garg ◽  
Monika Sethi

Purpose Due to its impact on business performance total quality management (TQM) has gained a lot of importance by businessmen, managers, practitioners, and research scholars over the last 20 years. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to critically assess the literature on TQM and find out the areas where future research is required. Design/methodology/approach To achieve this purpose the articles published in the last 20 years were studied in a systematic way and a snapshot of the same was prepared in the tabular format with points such as year and journal of publication, application and country, statistical method used, and findings of the study such as practices and impact of TQM. After identifying the practices and impact of TQM a quality tool “Pareto Analysis” was applied on them for development of the model. Findings The findings provide the practices of TQM and its impact on the performance of a business. The gaps from the literature have been identified and areas for future research have been suggested. On the basis of the findings a generalized framework of TQM has been suggested which can be applicable irrespective of the sector. Practical implications The research will help academicians and future researchers to have a clear understanding of TQM in different rosters. Originality/value Ample literature is available on TQM but in the best knowledge of authors no study has taken place to integrate the reviews and findings of 102 research papers of the last two decades.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 1119-1147
Author(s):  
João L.F.R. Fragoso ◽  
Rúben M.T. Peixinho ◽  
Luís M.S. Coelho ◽  
Inna C.S. Paiva

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the most relevant issues related to the impact of financial restatements in the dynamics of financial markets and identify several research gaps to be investigated in future research. Design/methodology/approach The methodology is based on a systematic review of the literature described by Tranfield et al. (2003). The final sample includes 47 academic papers published from 1996 to 2019. Findings Papers in this domain discuss three main topics: how the market prices the announcement of a financial restatement; how financial restatements affect the announcing firm’s cost of capital and how financial restatements affect firms’ reputation. There are several issues to explore in future research, including whether financial restatements affect the dynamics of financial markets in Europe, whether the market fully and promptly assimilates the information content of a restatement, the role of financial analysts’ information disclosures in this process or how regulators may improve the way they provide investors with timely information about firms’ restating problems. Research limitations/implications There is always some degree of subjectivity in the definition of the keywords, search strings and selection criteria in a systematic review. These are all important aspects, as they delimitate the scope of the study and define the sample of papers to be reviewed. Practical implications The answers to the research questions identified in this paper may provide regulators with information to improve financial accounting and reporting standards and strengthen investors’ confidence in accounting information and the dynamics of financial markets. Originality/value This paper systematically reviews the relevant literature exploring the connection between financial restatements and the dynamics of financial markets. It contributes to the academic community by identifying several research questions that may impact the theory and practice related to accounting quality and capital markets.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Citlalli Lopez-Torres ◽  
Salomón Montejano-García ◽  
Francisco Javier Alvarez-Torres ◽  
Marcelo de Jesus Perez-Ramos

Purpose This paper aims to present a systematic review of the literature on sustainability for the competitiveness of firms to identify the state of the art, significant discussions and new research directions. Recently, due to the negative impacts that traditional and unsustainable practices of companies have caused the Planet (e.g. climate change, sanitary crisis), national and international research urgently calls for the assessment of sustainable practices in firms. However, progress seems slow due to a poor understanding of the necessary changes that companies must make in their specific reality. Competitiveness has remained as firms’ primary strategy to endure. Some have associated sustainability with an increment of costs, sometimes with a negative impact on its competitiveness. Sometimes generating oppositions from stakeholder and institutions regulations, it is important to explore how these behaviors and dynamics of this relationship between sustainability and competitiveness affect the pursued transition to sustainability. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review of the literature, which is a scientific tool, is used in this research. It allows reliably and accurately analyzing and constructing conclusions from a broad database. The search was leaked over the 10 years, from 2010 to 2019. As a basis, 182 scientific articles were identified and revised based on methodology selection criteria and 51 articles were revised in detail. Findings This paper identifies critical variables analyzed in the selected articles, sustainability strategies for competitiveness, strategies for sustainability, organizational aspects for sustainability and competitiveness, measurement of sustainability, models, moderating factors for sustainability and new future research directions. Originality/value This paper presents state of art about sustainability for competitiveness and identifying key themes and future research directions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 1516-1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nai H. Lamb ◽  
Philip Roundy

Purpose Board interlocks are a phenomenon of widespread prevalence and one of the most vibrant topics in corporate governance research. However, despite sustained academic interest in interlocks, there has not been a comprehensive review of the literature in nearly two decades. To address this need for an up-to-date review, this paper aims to conduct an assessment and integration of the empirical research on board interlocks. Design/methodology/approach In reviewing the board interlocks literature, the “systematic review” approach, which emphasizes methodological rigor and transparency, has been used. Using this method, 81 empirical papers that became the focus of this analysis have been identified. Findings This review reveals that board interlocks research can be categorized based on the theoretical lens used, its focus on antecedents or outcomes of interlock activities and the perspective of the study (i.e. firm- or director-level). Moreover, a number of commonly examined themes have been identified. Several unexpected omissions in the literature have also been uncovered. For instance, it was found that scholars have neither examined the implications of engaging in interlocks in a global context nor have they explored the phenomenon of international interlocks (i.e. interlocks between firms located in different countries). Originality/value In developing a deeper understanding of the board interlocks literature, this review identifies several topics and disciplines that, if pursued, could enrich the literature and open promising avenues for future research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evangelos Psomas ◽  
Fotis Vouzas ◽  
Nancy Bouranta ◽  
Mary Tasiou

Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine the main total quality management (TQM) factors adopted and the respective results achieved by local authorities – municipalities. Determining the degree to which TQM influences the respective results is also an aim of the present study. Design/methodology/approach A research study was designed to be carried out in Greek local authorities – municipalities, 125 of which were approached through interviews with chief executive officers (CEOs) based on a structured questionnaire. The TQM practices and results identified in the literature were used as measured variables of the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analyses were applied for the purpose of the study. Findings The TQM philosophy is not highly adopted by the Greek local authorities participating in the present study. Moreover, the Greek local authorities do not seem to derive significant TQM benefits. Finally, adopting TQM strongly and positively influences, first, operational and quality performance of the local authorities; second, citizen satisfaction and society results; and third, employee satisfaction. Research limitations/implications Subjective data were collected from the CEOs of a small sample of local authorities operating in a European Union country, under circumstances of financial crisis. Based on these limitations, future research studies are recommended. Practical implications Areas for improvement are identified for a local authority to develop a robust TQM model, approach business excellence and derive significant benefits. Originality/value This is the first research study in the field of TQM to be conducted at city-level administration in Greece.


2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.M. Riad Shams

Purpose Quality assurance is a key concern in higher education, which is more complex in offshore transnational education (TNE), compared to onshore provision of education service. However, higher education quality assurance is an established research domain; there is very limited work on the efficacy of industry-based total quality management (TQM) considerations to uphold quality in higher education, particularly in TNE. From this context, the purpose of this paper is to develop new insights in this under-researched area. Design/methodology/approach An inductive constructivist approach is followed to analyse extant scholarly views in relevant disciplinary areas to develop new insights, in relation to the significance of industry-based TQM in TNEs’ quality assurance. Findings Stakeholder orientation is recognised, as a significant consideration to uphold quality in TNE. Different stakeholders are identified, who would have substantial influence on TNEs’ TQM. How these stakeholders could influence the TQM process is clarified. Some empirical insights are also developed, in support of the arguments of the paper. Practical implications These insights will be useful for education administrators to better align their stakeholder relationships to underpin TQM. Academics will be able to use these insights as a basis for future research towards the significance of industry-based TQM in higher education. Originality/value Based on a stakeholder-focussed TNE TQM model, the findings represent an innovative strategic direction towards a better understanding of the significance of stakeholder relationships, pertaining to TQM in the contemporary higher education system.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bita Yazdani

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between total quality management (TQM), employee outcomes and performance. Moreover, how environmental uncertainty (EU) influences the relationship between employee outcomes and performance is regarded in the context of automobile part manufacturing and suppliers of Iran. Four theories namely resource-based view theory, ability, motivation, opportunity framework, contingency theory and quality management theory have been adopted in this research.Design/methodology/approachA research project is conducted in 191 automobile part manufacturing and suppliers plants using the questionnaire method. Confirmatory factor analysis is applied to assess the reliability and validity of the measurement instrument. The correlations between latent constructs are examined through partial least squares method.FindingsThe results show positive relationship between TQM, employee outcome and performance. The EU also moderates the relationship between employee outcome and performance.Research limitations/implicationsIt is recommended that some contextual factors such as culture be noticed in future research studies. Data were collected from Iranian automobile part manufacturing and suppliers plants, which may limit the generalization of results to other organizations in other countries.Practical implicationsIn this paper, some beneficial insights are addressed to assist managers in recognizing the organizational problems, which weaken implementing TQM, employee outcomes and the effect of EU on organizations.Social implicationsBy improving the quality of management practices and employee outcomes, the society gains benefits such as customer satisfaction.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the TQM advance and human resource management literature and provides better foundations for employee outcomes improvement through TQM practices in the Middle East. By investigating the effect of EU, this study fills the current gap in this field.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Khalid Alofi ◽  
Ahmed Younes

Objective: Despite the widespread adoption of Total Quality Management (TQM) and its theoretical applicability within the institutional framework, in the Middle East, particularly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the rhetoric in TQM has weakened the practical application and foundation of TQM as a quality management framework. There is also a scarcity of empirical evidence to support the various theoretical meanings.Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify, critically evaluate, and understand the findings of current high-quality TQM implementation literature within the manufacturing sector in Saudi Arabia.Results: The paper highlights that the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)9000 is the most implemented model within the manufacturing sector. However, this sector is still facing numerous challenges in the adoption of TQM such as; the disagreement as per the importance of TQM, the difference in the professional and technical know-how, weaknesses in the training and development systems, and the limitations that plague the institutional frameworks. Furthermore, there is a lack of financial resources to invest in the TQM processes, as well as the negative implications of the development model.Conclusions: This study provides a systematic review of TQM implementation in the manufacturing sector in Saudi Arabia. The study reveals that ISO 9000 has been the adoptable model in this sector. This systematic review contributes to the understanding of what has been done recently in the field of TQM model implementation, its development and validation in the manufacturing sector in Saudi Arabia. Also, it uncovers eminent study gaps for future research.


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