A SURVEY STUDY OF SIZE FACTOR IMPACT ON TQM SUCCESS AND SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach to long–term success through customer satisfaction. There have been numerous studies devoted to TQM success and failures but relatively few took into account size factors. The objective of this study was to determine if size factors impacted TQM success and sustainability. In this study, the authors looked at three areas where size may impact TQM success: size of an organization, size of customer base, and size of the core TQM team. The authors developed a survey and measured the responses of 101 industry professionals with varying degrees of expertise in TQM to understand if size factors impacted the success and sustainability of TQM. The findings suggest that responses varied widely based on TQM expertise. General trends were evident with responses from select subgroups. The study concluded that size factors play a contributor role but are not root causes to success or failure. This research is unique because it looks at customer base size and core TQM team size to determine if these factors impact TQM implementation and sustainability.