An in-depth investigation on quality management practices in China

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to capture the up-to-date development of quality management (QM) programs in China's manufacturing landscape. The study aims to gain understanding on the current state-of-the-art QM programs adopted by Chinese manufacturing companies. Furthermore, the study investigates the key drivers and organizational characteristics that may shape the decisions on QM program adoption. Design/methodology/approach - To gain a deep understanding of QM in China's manufacturing landscape, in-depth interviews were conducted with production managers, quality managers, and/or executives of 12 manufacturing companies in four cities in China in May and June 2012. Each interview lasted about two hours and covered all aspects of QM in the business, including what quality programs are in place and why the business adopts and implements these programs. Grounded theory approach is used to conduct qualitative analysis on the interview transcripts using NVivo 9, a qualitative data analysis program. Findings - Two categories of QM programs adopted by Chinese companies emerged from the analysis, namely, QM systems and QM certifications. QM systems include Total Quality Management (TQM), Six Sigma, and Lean. QM certification includes ISO 9000 series standard certificates, ISO 14000 certificate, OHSAS heath certificates, government regulatory certificates, and industry certificates. The authors found while Six Sigma and Lean adoption is related to parent company requirement, TQM adoption is related to internal quality improvement and control, quality assurance, leadership ideology, culture, and employee commitment. QM certification adoption is significantly related to external drivers. Regarding the effect of organizational characteristics, the study reveals that while corporate governance and ownership influence parent company requirements as an adoption driver, industry, product, and market segmentation influence industry requirements and government regulations as adoption drivers. Research limitations/implications - The findings and proposed conceptual framework are based on qualitative data collected from 12 companies in four cities in China, which may be limited to represent and reveal every aspect of QM programs adopted in Chinese manufacturing industries. The findings provide theoretical propositions that can be verified using a large sample set in future studies. In addition, although the study identified a variety of QM programs adopted, how these programs are implemented warrants further investigation. Practical implications - This study gives a status update and in-depth investigation on the development of QM programs adopted in Chinese manufacturing companies. How internal drivers, external drivers, and organizational characteristics shape companies' decision on program adoption were explored. The study results provide implications not only for companies that are involved in supply chains with operations in China, but also for Chinese domestic companies competing in global markets to have QM systems in place to ensure quality performance. Originality/value - This study used multiple case study approach and grounded theory approach to conduct in-depth investigation on the current state of QM landscape in China's manufacturing companies. It contributes to the body of knowledge on QM programs in China by uncovering the linkages between program adoption, key drivers, and organizational characteristics in an integrated framework.