The boosting of the total quality management on corporate green growth in emerging markets: the mediating roles of corporate social responsibility and customer loyalty

Purpose The primary purpose of this research is to examine how total quality management (TQM) boosts corporate green growth (CGG) with the involvement of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and customer loyalty (CL) as mediators in the relationship between TQM and CGG for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging economy. Design/methodology/approach This research adopts a quantitative approach. According to the scope of this study, constructs of TQM, CSR, CL and CGG and the conceptual relationships between them are established using a systematic literature review. This study uses enterprise-level primary data collected from a questionnaire-based survey. The respondents are those holding managerial positions in their enterprises. There were 424 valid responses obtained following the necessary screening steps to ensure the eligibility of the collected data for analysis using AMOS version 20. Findings This study reveals that TQM has a positive and significant relationship with CSR, CL and CGG. Amongst these direct connections, TQM has the most substantial influence on CGG, followed by CL and CSR. Furthermore, the findings assert that CSR positively and significantly affects CGG and CL. When comparing the weighting of these effects, the results show that the impact of CSR on CGG is stronger than that on CL. Furthermore, the results confirm that CSR and CL partially mediate the relationship between TQM and CGG, both independently and simultaneously. The article also discusses the theoretical and managerial implications based on the stated findings. Originality/value The originality of this study stems from its contribution to enriching the body of the current literature on TQM and its combined influence on corporate performance. In this respect, this study adds to the existing literature by providing additional empirical evidence on the mechanism by which TQM boosts CGG with the involvement of CSR and CL in mediating the stated relationship between TQM and CGG for SMEs in an emerging economy. To the best of the author's knowledge, such holistic incorporation is rare in the current literature. Furthermore, this study sheds light on the TQM enabling factors that are extended beyond the quality or technical scope as previously assumed. The stated contributions deserve to be originally derived from the attempt of this scientific work that may be of interest to academics, professionals and business practitioners.