Purpose -As with the ISO 9000 standard, some doubts arise from the scientific literature about the impact of the EFQM model in companies' success. This paper aims to present an analysis of the relationships in the 2003 version of the EFQM model using data from the actual self-evaluations of 68 organizations. It also analyzes if there are possible differences in the EFQM implementation between public and private organizations. Design/methodology/approach -The Partial Least Squares (PLS) method is used to test hypotheses. Findings -Results show that the model does not behave in the way that the designers of the EFQM expected. Two of the results variables are not sufficiently correlated with the others to be part of the complete model. When the model is tested without these two variables, the connection between enablers fails, since policy and strategy, people, and partnership and resources do not have statistically significant effects on the process. There is a slightly higher achievement in the group of manufacturing/private companies compared with the group of public/educational institutions. Research limitations/implications -This paper is an exploratory study. A deeper analysis of the agency criteria might produce improved results. It would also be possible to examine sub-criterion levels. Each enabler in the model is composed of different sub-criteria and the relationships among them have not been explored in the literature. The question that needs to be addressed is whether the inclusion of enablers in the EFQM Excellence Model can be justified on empirical grounds. Originality/value -Previous research has been conducted using secondary data. The study has been made using the real self-evaluations of organizations, evaluations that have been validated by official staff of the EFQM organization. In addition, whereas much of the previous research analysed the 1999 version of the model, this paper focuses on the latest version of 2003.

Presents a complete and comprehensive review of the literature concerning the relationship between information technologies (IT) and total quality management (TQM) and examines the key issues. The examination is made against a number of dimensions of TQM including customer and supplier relationships, workforce management, process flow management and quality data and reporting. Issues concerning the impact that IT is having on these TQM dimensions are highlighted and future potential issues are raised.

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm: 463575 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.Micaela Martínez-Costa (mili@um.es) is associate professor of operations management at the University of Murcia (Spain). Her research mainly focuses on quality management and its relationship with company performance.

The EFQM Excellence Model (EEM) has been used by managers and academics as a proxy for the implementation of total quality management (TQM). However, at the present time there is no empirical evidence that shows that the systems are equivalent. This paper empirically analyses whether companies that implement the EEM as a management tool are indirectly using TQM. The results make it possible to conclude that EEM and TQM, although not the same, follow a similar path and it can be expected that a company with high scores at EEM will have high odds of being a TQM company. In addition, both systems provide a means for improving performance according to the results measured by the EEM.

Business innovation, that is, the adaptation of management systems to the changing conditions of the environment, is a key factor for organisations if they wish to survive and grow. Total Quality Management (TQM) has demonstrated its potential to be a successful way for organisations to eliminate costs, improve productivity and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. However, are TQM and business innovation compatible? The advantages and disadvantages of TQM as a means of developing and facilitating business innovations are discussed in this paper. It is argued that TQM does not hinder business innovation and some of its dimensions can assist an organisation to be more innovative. The compatibility of reengineering, which is a form of business innovation, is also analysed in the paper, along with the effects of TQM on the successful implementation of information technologies.