تکثیر و گسترش از مدیریت کیفیت به زنجیره تامین

As competition moves beyond a single firm into the supply chain, researchers are beginning to explore quality management (QM) in a supply chain context. The literature suggests that supply chain management (SCM) consists of internal practices, which are contained within a firm, and external practices, which cross organizational boundaries integrating a firm with its customers and suppliers. Supplier quality management and customer focus are two QM practices that are also clearly in the domain of SCM. In this study we investigate how these two supply chain management-related quality practices lead to improved performance and examine the practices that precede and mediate those relationships. In doing so, we replicate and extend the relationships among the QM practices and their effects on firm performance suggested in Kaynak [Kaynak, H., 2003. The relationship between total quality management practices and their effects on firm performance. Journal of Operations Management 21, 405–435] using survey data gathered from firms operating in the U.S. The inclusion of customer focus and supplier quality management in the QM model supports the importance of internal and external integration for quality performance. Implications of the results for researchers and practitioners are discussed, and further research implications are suggested.

Empirical quality management (QM) research has evolved over the last 20 years. Empirical research has defined and measured QM practices (e.g., Ahire et al., 1996, Flynn et al., 1994, Nair, 2006, Saraph et al., 1989 and Sila and Ebrahimpour, 2005). Numerous studies have investigated the relationships among QM practices and various aspects of a firm's performance (e.g., Adam et al., 1997, Ahire and O'Shaughnessy, 1998, Dow et al., 1999, Kaynak, 2003 and Samson and Terziovski, 1999). As competition moves beyond a single firm into the supply chain, focus is shifting from management of internal practices alone. Instead, quality managers must integrate their firms’ practices with those of customers and suppliers (e.g., Flynn and Flynn, 2005, Kannan and Tan, 2005, Robinson and Malhotra, 2005 and Sila et al., 2006). Integrating QM and supply chain management (SCM) will be important for future competitiveness (Flynn and Flynn, 2005, Matthews, 2006 and Robinson and Malhotra, 2005). Two QM practices, supplier quality management and customer focus, extend QM into the supply chain. We investigate how these two SCM quality practices lead to improved performance and examine the practices that precede and mediate those relationships. In doing so, we replicate and extend the relationships among the QM practices and their effects on firm performance suggested in Kaynak (2003) in a different sample and in a supply chain context. This study contributes to the literature by extending the examination of QM into the supply chain and by increasing confidence in the relationships among internal QM practices and performance. Replication implies that results can be generalized with confidence, building the foundation for theory (Cook and Campbell, 1979). Though relatively rare in business disciplines (Murgolo-Poore et al., 2002, Singh et al., 2003 and Tsang and Kwan, 1999) – and particularly rare in operations management (Frohlich and Dixon, 2001) – replication is essential for the integrity of empirical research (Berthon et al., 2002, Easley et al., 2000, Hubbard et al., 1998, Lindsay and Ehrenberg, 1993 and Tsang and Kwan, 1999). The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. The literature used to identify the QM practices is briefly reviewed. In Section 2, a research model and related hypotheses pertaining to the relationships among QM practices and firm performance are offered. Section 3 describes the research methodology, including the construction of the instrument and measures, the survey procedure, the sample, and analyses used to confirm construct validity. Section 4 presents the results of testing the structural model. The implications of the results for researchers and practitioners are discussed in Section 5. The paper concludes with limitations and further research opportunities.

There are several limitations to this empirical research. Because a cross-sectional survey method was used, we derived the causal inferences tested in this study from existing theory and research. Although Cook and Campbell (1979) say that this is an acceptable approach to clarify theory and assess specific causal effects from correlational research data with structural and path analyses, longitudinal studies are needed to observe QM implementation processes in organizations and further test the relationships found in this study. In addition, data were gathered using a single respondent within each organization, creating the opportunity for bias in the responses. The relatively low response rate and indirect estimation of nonresponse bias is a limitation of this study; thus, the results may not adequately reflect the target population. This study, a close replication of Kaynak (2003), contributes to the development of supply chain quality management theory in several ways. By including both customer focus and supplier quality management in the QM model, the importance of integration with supply chain members to improve quality performance was confirmed. The mediating relationships suggest that different approaches are likely needed when integrating quality management practices across the supply chain. More research is needed to understand how to most effectively integrate quality processes with various members across the supply chain. The findings of this study confirmed the direct and indirect relationships – for the relationships that are the same in both studies – among QM practices tested in Kaynak (2003). Close replication of at least one or two studies is essential for establishing the robustness of the original measurement (Lindsay and Ehrenberg, 1993). The similarity of the results to Kaynak (2003) supports the temporal validity (Tsang and Kwan, 1999) of QM. Replication research confirms that the relationships among the eight QM practices and firm performance are stable across samples and across time. Thus, it appears that QM practices are not a fad but have become integrated into normal business practices. By building on Saraph et al. (1989) and Kaynak, 1997 and Kaynak, 2003, this study also offers a valid and refined survey instrument that can be used to measure QM implementation without making excessive demands on the time of both respondents and researchers. Researchers can extend the use of the measures into the supply chain. Managers can also employ this instrument to measure QM implementation in their organizations.