Total Quality Management: A Literature Review and an Agenda for Future Research

Abstract

Total quality management (TQM) is a revolutionary approach to effective management. The research in TQM has emerged from practical needs of organizations embracing this philosophy, and the literature is mostly conceptual and practitioner‐oriented. There is a lack of sound theoretical framework classifying past efforts and guiding future research. To fill the void, a study of the published TQM literature is undertaken. A review, classification, and analysis of the research in TQM spanning the last two decades is presented. A total of 226 TQM‐related articles are identified from 44 refereed management journals published from 1970 to 1993. These articles are then classified and analyzed using the following two‐dimensional scheme: (1) article orientation (conceptual, case study, empirical, analytical, simulation, and overview) and (2) article focus using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria. The analysis of the literature presents pertinent developments in each of the seven criteria. In addition, it provides future research directions as well as a ready reference of the TQM literature. The suggestions for research should guide future developments in the TQM field and help transform it into a formal discipline.

Diagnosing and prognosticating the quality movement – a review on the 25 years quality literature (1987–2011)

“…For instance Ahire et al (1995)  It has been recognized that TQM has started to receive an increasing amount of interest from the service industry.…”

Three decades of continuous improvement

“…First, because the concept of continuous improvement needs to constantly adapt to the changing environment. And, secondly, because as Ahire et al (1995) have already stressed there is a need for greater theoretical development of the subject that, according to their results, seemed to be very practically oriented. The results of this study seem to reinforce this need because, as mentioned above, the percentage of empirical research has remained very high throughout the period analysed.…”

A Study on TQM Development, Performance and Sustenance in Service Industries through Effective Communication, Critical Success Factors and Market Orientation

“…Further in-depth investigation needs to explore other critical issues of TQM implementation like performance measurement, total environmental quality management (TEQM) etc., for better understanding of tools and techniques of TQM to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of service organizations [12].…”