Competitive strategy, TQM practice, and continuous improvement of international project management

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between competitive strategy, total quality management (TQM), and continuous improvement of international project management (CIIPM). Design/methodology/approach -Based on a literature review, a theoretical model and five hypotheses are developed. A cross-sectional data set collected from 268 international project managers based in four countries is used to test the theoretical model. Findings -The results from the statistical analysis suggest that competitive strategy does not directly influence the CIIPM performance, but it influences through the mediation of TQM practices. The results also suggest that "human resource-based" TQM elements have stronger influence toward CIIPM performance than "technology-based" TQM elements.Research limitations/implications -The study used four TQM variables, which originated from the MBNQA (1995) framework. Although the four variables are robust and sufficiently represent the TQM dimension, the multi-dimensional nature of TQM practice can be investigated further. Further, the study only utilized a single variable of CIIPM in investigating international project management performance. As future TQM and international project management practices go through evolutions, additional elements may be incorporated into the three-domain contingency model. Practical implications -The study results suggest that the TQM elements fully mediate the relationship between competitive strategy and CIIPM. This implies that organizations need an innovative management methodology, such as the TQM practice, in order to achieve competitive strategy materializing towards international project management performance. Further, the findings suggest that it is the soft TQM elements (i.e. top management's leadership, compensation, training and empowerment) that impact the CIIPM more significantly. Originality/value -Although numerous classical studies are reported in various contexts involving competitive strategy, TQM practice, and project management performance, no existing study focuses on how these three domains are linked together.

Total quality management practices, competitive strategies and financial performance: the case of the Palestinian industrial SMEs

“…The results have showed a significant and positive relationship between management leadership and soft TQM practices, and an indirect relationship with hard TQM practices through soft TQM practices. These findings highlight the importance of leadership management and its effect on other TQM practices and are in line with many studies in the literature (Ahire et al, 1996;Deming, 1986;Green, 2012;Ingelsson et al, 2012;Jung et al, 2009;Juran, 1986;Mokhtar and Yusof, 2010).…”

“…Most literature also agrees about the positive relationship between TQM and competitive strategies -differentiation and cost leadership- (Fuentes et al, 2006;Reed et al, 1996). However, some recent studies did not find significant relationship between cost leadership and TQM (Jung et al, 2009;Prajogo and Sohal, 2006). This study addresses this issue through the study of the relationship between TQM and competitive strategies.…”

“…In this study the researchers use cost leadership and differentiation strategies, because they are the most commonly used strategies in the literature (Amoako-Gyampah and Acquaah, 2008;Fuentes et al, 2006). Literature strongly supports that competitive strategies are positively related to organizational performance (Chi, 2010;Jung et al, 2009). …”

“…The significant relationship between leadership management and soft TQM practices resulted from the essential role of management leadership in a successful implementation of TQM practices. Management leadership is the most important factor influencing the successful implementation of quality management principles and practices, as it drives and influences other TQM practices (Ahire et al, 1996;Deming, 1986;Jung et al, 2009;Juran, 1986;Mokhtar and Yusof, 2010). The employees need tools and systems in their work which can be supply only by top management (Baidoun and Zairi, 2003).…”

The Relationship between Total Quality Management (TQM) and Strategic Management

“…If the business enterprises aim to realize a strategic plan of sorts, one of the alternatives as well as the TQM programs, it is necessary to go over the common characteristics of the strategic planning and TQM. Reference [3] shows that "the total quality management (TQM) practice has been adopted and implemented in varying degrees by a vast number of companies throughout the world during the last two decades". The similarities and the differences between the strategic planning and TQM include as follows [4]: 1) Both imply a clearly set mission and objectives; 2) SP is a plan while ТQM is a way of working with set principles and techniques; 3) Both refer to action not theory; 4) Both require absolute commitment from the head management; 5) Both require participation from the entire staff, in ТQM integrated involvement, and in strategic planning it is left to preference; 6) Both require change in culture, in ТQM explicitly and in SP as something to look forward to; 7) Bothe focus on the users/consumers, in ТQM it is…”