The impact of hard and soft quality management and proactive behaviour in determining innovation performance

Abstract

The extant literature has reported mixed results on the relationship between Quality Management (QM) practices and innovation performance. Most of the studies carried out to date have proposed a direct relationship between QM and innovation, while neglecting the potential variables that may influence this relationship. In order to advance in this line of research, this paper develops a model of relationships between QM, understood as a multidimensional construct (hard QM and soft QM), and innovation performance (product and process innovation), which examines the mediator role of employee proactive behaviour in these relationships. The proposed model is examined using empirical data from ISO 9001 certified firms in high technology manufacturing and service sectors. The findings from structural equation modelling show the direct influence of the hard QM dimension on product and process innovation, while the effects of the soft QM dimension are channelled via proactive behaviour. The conclusions of the present study highlight the facilitating role of QM practices and proactivity for innovation.

Quality Management, Green Innovation and Firm Value: Evidence From Indonesia

“…Quality management practices aim at creating an environment that motivates employees to think innovatively and risk takers so that they affect innovation. According to Escrig-Tena et al, (2018), quality management, both hard and soft, influences innovation. Hard QM is directly related to product and process innovation while soft QM is more concerned with infrastructure so that employees can be proactive and participate in the innovation process by providing new ideas.…”

Do they really coexist? An empirical analysis of a conjoint implementation of Quality Management System and High Performance Work System on organizational effectiveness

“…Moreover, another neglected aspect is the fact that synergy and congruence within the QMS practices also have a significant impact on HPWS e.g. as asserted by Wilkinson [16] and Escrig-Tena et al [17] QMS comprises of two different sides, one is "hard" and the other is "soft" and the "soft" side focuses on HRM. Different researchers have proposed some frameworks by combining QMS and HPWS such as Bayo-Moriones et al [18] and Jimenez-Jimenez and Martınez-Costa [19] have analysed the effect of QM practices on HRM; however both the studies fell short to incorporate the basic ingredient of HPWS i.e.…”

Resource-Based Product and Process Innovation Model: Theory Development and Empirical Validation

“…"Survey research has played a prominent role in testing theorized relationships that have collectively enhanced the operations management (OM) and supply chain management bodies of knowledge" [90] (p. 578). However, previous OM scholars acknowledged the potential threat of a common method variance (CMV) on the validity of the survey results due to the self-reported nature of data [91,92]. Therefore, as ex-ante remedies for controlling CMV, we applied the following criteria to recruit appropriate survey participants; (i) the participant must have a full-time position in his/her organization, and (ii) the participant must be fully aware of his/her organization's resources and innovation activities, and (iii) if there are two or more respondents in the same organization, the survey participants are selected based on the position of the organization, that is, the top level information provider of the respondents [93,94].…”