اثر مدیریت کیفیت و بازاریابی بر عملکرد سازمانی

We test the relationships among quality orientation, market orientation, and organizational performance. Quality orientation looks at the level of quality management being implemented, while market orientation examines the level of marketing being practiced. Using data from 304 organizations having operational quality management systems, we test a structural model examining the hypothesized relationships among the three constructs. The quantitative survey results are supplemented with qualitative data collected from in-depth interviews with selected respondent organizations having different levels of quality and market orientations. The findings reveal that quality orientation and market orientation are complementary and substantiate the view that quality management and marketing reinforce each other in enhancing organizational performance. Management implications for the collective implementation of quality management and marketing are discussed.

A number of studies have been conducted to examine the impact of quality management, particularly TQM (e.g., Hendricks and Singhal, 1997), and the impact of marketing (e.g., Narver and Slater, 1990) on business performance. However, the literature is short of empirical studies on the combined effects of quality management and marketing, although they have been considered complementary business approaches for performance improvement (Lai and Weerakoon, 1998). The objective of this study is to explore whether quality management and marketing are complementary business approaches in organizations and, if so, the extent of their performance impact. To investigate the impact of these two “different” business approaches, which when implemented together are expected to bring better performance than implemented separately, a mail survey using structured questionnaire was conducted, complemented by follow-up in-depth case study analyses. This study adds to the existing literature by providing a theoretical framework that considers the quality management/marketing interface and its impact on organizational performance. Further, empirical linkages among quality management, marketing, and organizational performance are examined.

In general, we provide empirical evidence that quality management and marketing are complementary business approaches for improved organizational performance. However, the former needs to be market-driven to drive the performance impact of quality improvement efforts. The results are in line with the argument of Kordupleski et al. (1993) that awareness of customer needs and marketing are required for successful implementation of quality management. The role of marketing serves as a customer window to assure a market focus in quality improvement efforts. The findings suggest that quality management alone (particularly when it is confined to internal quality improvement without customer focus) does not appear to have a direct effect on performance success. In fact, the lack of a positive direct relationship between quality orientation and organizational performance would imply that firms should not simply focus on internal improvement. Rather, it may be appropriate to develop an outward-looking improvement focus on market needs, driving organizational performance through a market-oriented culture. It is evidenced in companies A and B where their quality management practices are driven with a focus on the market, but not on internal procedures and documentation processes as in the case of companies C and D for maintaining ISO-certified status. This implies that a market orientation is required for quality management to drive organizational performance. The results, however, do not signify that quality management is unimportant. On the contrary, quality management may be just as important, or even more so, in driving organizational performance. Our results indicate that quality orientation and market orientation in organizations are highly correlated and complementary, and that organizational performance is improved when market orientation is high. Furthermore, models with quality management/marketing complementarities display better goodness-of-fit than those lacking it. By employing the two business approaches as equally important performance drivers, high levels of quality management implementation and marketing implementation alignment are conducive to achieving a high level of organizational performance. It is important to pay attention to the philosophical elements and the complementary nature of quality management and marketing to ensure their alignment in implementation.