مدیریت کیفیت و بافت سازمانی در صنایع خدماتی انتخاب شده از چین

By developing an empirical taxonomy of quality management systems (QMS) in selected service industries in China, we compare the taxonomy of QMS developed in the service industries to that found in previous studies in manufacturing industries. We further investigate contingency relationships between the development of a QMS and its organizational contexts. Based on cluster analyses of quality management practices measured by the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) criteria, we found four patterns of service quality management practices: undeveloped, accommodating, strategic, and soft quality systems. Our research indicates that the type of quality system adopted by an organization is highly associated with organizational contextual factors. Our results indicate that environmental uncertainty shapes the development of a QMS in the early stage, while the perceived importance of quality induces the further development of a QMS to a strategic quality system. The results also show that small service firms that compete locally can achieve very good performance results using a soft quality system, a QMS with no formal process management systems. This research provides empirical evidence on contingent relationships among quality management practices, organizational context, and business performance, thus contributing to contingency theory in quality management.

Quality management (QM) has become one of the most widely accepted philosophies in business enterprises, and one of the most popular research areas in recent years. Recently, Sousa and Voss (2002) conducted a thorough review and analysis of the existing QM literature. Many studies have investigated the effects of various QM practices on quality performance (Anderson et al., 1995 and Dow et al., 1999), operational performance (Choi and Eboch, 1998 and Samson and Terziovski, 1999), and business performance (Adam et al., 1997 and Hendricks and Singhal, 1997). Overall, these studies have shown that QM practices have a strong effect on quality and operational performance, but a weak or insignificant effect on business performance. Similarly, quality performance has a strong effect on operational performance, but often a weak or insignificant effect on business performance. One of the major reasons for the weak effect of QM practices on business performance might be that it is contingent on other factors, such as the market environment or organizational context. Flynn et al. (1995) classified QM practices into two broad categories: infrastructure and core practices. Infrastructure practices are the non-mechanistic/socio-behavioral aspects of quality management, such as senior management support/commitment, customer focus, workforce management, training, and so on. Core practices are the mechanical/process/technical aspects of quality management, such as process management, statistical process control, product design process, and benchmarking. While Flynn et al. (1995) and Anderson et al. (1995) showed that infrastructure practices created the environment to support the use of core practices, they may affect performance only when core aspects have been established. Others suggested that infrastructure practices produce performance without the core practices (Dow et al., 1999, Powell, 1995 and Samson and Terziovski, 1999). Further research is needed to clarify the relative importance and interplay between core and infrastructure practices in determining performance under various organizational contexts (Sousa and Voss, 2002). Recently, studies on the implementation of QM focus on the QM implementation content, or the extent to which different QM practices should be used. Although researchers have traditionally advocated that QM practices are universally applicable to organizations, some studies have revealed that not all QM practices are effective in all organizations (Benson et al., 1991 and Sousa and Voss, 2002). However, the existing literature on QM contingencies is very sparse. Hence, more research is needed to identify important contingency variables and to provide guidelines as to which practices should be emphasized under different sets of contextual variables. There is a need to identify the relevant contextual factors that affect the implementation approaches. Sousa and Voss (2002) further point out that the majority of QM studies had been conducted in the manufacturing sector, and that some practices might not work equally well in the service sector. Hence, there is a need for more studies of the service sector. This research focuses on the contingency theory in quality management. First, by developing an empirical taxonomy of the service sector, we compare the patterns of a QMS in the service sector to those that originated from the manufacturing industry. Second, by identifying the differences of the organizational contexts among various categories of QMS, we explore the contingency factors behind the development of a QMS, and how such contingency relationships could lead to business results. The paradox to be solved here is fundamental and significant in the field of quality management. Is the development of a QMS universal and context-dependent? If QM is context-dependent, then does the development of a QMS differ between the manufacturing industry and the service sector? How would such a development be contingent on the organizational contexts in which a service organization is operating?

We explored the patterns of QM practices of 145 companies in three service industries of the PRC and found four patterns: undeveloped, accommodating, strategic, and soft quality systems. This study significantly contributes to the literature on quality management by discovering that small service firms completing locally could perform well without formal process management systems, while no such firms exist in the manufacturing industries. The study also contributes to the body of knowledge by exploring how contextual variables influence the development of quality systems. We empirically examined contingency theory in relation to quality management, which had been cited as one of the most important areas of future research. The limitations of this article can be viewed in terms of methodology and scope. Methodologically, the study was based on cross-sectional survey research, which provided limited longitudinal evidence of how quality management systems evolve over time, and how contextual factors affect the development of a quality system and consequently lead to various forms of organizational performance. There is a need to carry out a longitudinal study to examine such complex relationships. Moreover, the study was based on data from self-reported questionnaires, and individual bias in reporting may exist. In terms of scope, the study was limited to three selected service industries in China. Further research is needed to verify the generalizability of the findings to other industries and other countries. In essence, this research is exploratory. However, we have developed a number of premises in contingency research of quality management, which can be further investigated in the future. This represents an important step forward in understanding the contingent relationships between quality management practices and business performance.