The categories, examination items, and framework of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) criteria present the underlying relationships between the various quality management constructs and between quality management and organization performance. This research uses data from the Arizona Governor's Quality Award, which is based on the MBNQA, to study the strength of these relationships using path analysis. The results of our analysis confirm the validity of the MBNQA framework. The results from this research indicate that leadership significantly directly or indirectly affects all of the systems constructs, except for strategic quality planning and information management, which was not tested in the model. The results also indicate that information management, human resources management and customer focus have a significant effect on customer satisfaction and business results. A strong focus on customers and employees, in addition to effective leadership and information management is clearly shown to be essential for organization success.

The issue of operations management (OM) research agendas was first advanced in the literature in 1980 with updates and additions in 1981, 1987, and 1989. We believe that the time is ripe for an analysis of the OM research agenda in the decade of the 90's. In this study, we examine operations management research methodologies and output during the period 1992–1997. Amoako‐Gyampah and Meredith [Amoako‐Gyampah, K., Meredith, J.R., 1989. Journal of Operations Management 8, 250‐262] published a study in which they examined operations management research output from 1982 through 1987. Our objectives are to examine the state of operations management research in the 1990s from the standpoint of topics and methodologies to look for trends, and to determine implications for future research. We assessed the state of research in operations management by examining the research topics addressed and the methodologies used in a subset of seven academic journals that are representative of publications in operations management research. We also surveyed pipeline research in the operations management area by analyzing the topics discussed in national conferences attended by operations management academicians and researchers. Our findings show some significant changes in the kind of research being performed in the 1990s vs. the 1980s. Greater interest in strategy and quality are now apparent in the literature. OM research in the 1990s is also more integrative in nature. We were surprised to find no apparent shift away from modeling solution methods nor any significant shift toward empirical methodologies.

Ž.Tens of thousands of firms have used the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award MBNQA criteria to improve the quality of their products and processes. Because the MBNQA data are confidential, there has been no published assessment of the validity and reliability of these criteria for evaluating the quality management practices of an organization. In this Ž. research, we analyze data from the Arizona Governor's Quality Award AGQA in order to check the validity of the model used to evaluate organizational quality. The criteria for the AGQA closely parallel the MBNQA criteria. Hence, the conclusions drawn from this study provide a basis for generalization to the MBNQA criteria. In the literature review, the MBNQA criteria are compared to two other instruments that have been developed and tested for measuring quality management. The MBNQA criteria are found to be more comprehensive and less prescriptive than the other two. In our research, we examine content validity, construct validity, and predictive validity of the AGQA. Finally, we present our conclusions and implications for researchers and managers. q

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