A strategy perspective on total quality management

Research on total quality management (TQM) has mainly focused on the consequences of TQM such as firm performance and the drivers of TQM such as top management team support, while the conditions that moderate the relationship between TQM and firm performance have seldom been considered. Thus, this paper attempts to investigate the conditions in which the effects of TQM are either intensified or weakened, with a sample set of 565 Korean manufacturing firms. This paper adopts a strategic perspective that considers TQM as a source of competitive advantages. The positive effect of TQM on firm performance could be measured by sales and revenue; more importantly, the results suggested that the positive effect of TQM was stronger when a firm pursues a proactive strategy (internal strategic factor) and when a firm is in its growth stage in terms of the product lifecycle (external strategic factor). Thus, managers should implement TQM earlier than their competitors to fully benefit from TQM. This study provides a more complete overview of TQM research by incorporating a strategic perspective and adding empirical evidence.