Organisation and supply chain for quality control in luxury companies

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify the organisation of the quality department and the management of the supply chain (SC) used by luxury companies to achieve quality requirements. Design/methodology/approach - The paper follows an exploratory approach using a case-based methodology. Data are collected through eight case studies with French luxury companies. Findings - The paper offers insights into the management of quality for luxury companies. The paper illustrates the main determinants of the adoption of the specific quality organisations; moreover, the paper identifies the main approaches adopted by luxury companies at the SC level to control the quality along the whole chain. For example, the paper raised that all accessible and aspirational luxury companies present a full-time quality department whereas a part-time approach is identified for high-luxury companies. In high-luxury companies, quality issues are perceived as critical elements to be monitored not just by one specific department but by each and every company employees; on the contrary, in the other companies the approach towards quality is more similar to the one of mass-market companies. Research limitations/implications - The research provides initial insights into the important role of quality in luxury companies. To date, the analysis is predominantly qualitative and not sufficiently statistically significant to generalise the results. Practical implications - This paper raises a number of important issues for luxury companies who are not advance yet in structurally managed quality issues into their companies but especially their SCs. Originality/value - This paper is one of the first attempts to study quality management specifically applied to luxury companies, with a main focus on the organisation of the quality department as well as the SC.