PurposeThe purpose of this research is to analyze the reciprocal relation between total quality management (TQM) and innovation (product innovation and process innovation) and their impact on operational and financial performance.Design/methodology/approachThe data were obtained from a survey of 205 manufacturing companies. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to evaluate the research model.FindingsThe results reveal that there is a reciprocal relationship between TQM and innovation. Moreover, the findings indicate a significant positive effect of product innovation and process innovation on operational performance and insignificant direct impact of TQM on operational performance. However, this effect is significant when it is mediated through product innovation and process innovation.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper helps practitioners to understand how TQM practices support both product and process innovation and the role of the latter in promoting the implementation of TQM practices and ensuring operational performance.Originality/valueThis study presents an innovative approach since it is among the first research studies that provide empirical evidence to a reciprocal association between TQM and innovation. Additionally, this paper examines the dimensions studied in different aspects. It considered financial performance and operational performance, and with respect to innovation, this dimension was analyzed through two different perspectives, namely product innovation and process innovation. This study is also among the first and few research studies that have studied the mediating effect of innovation.

This study aims to investigate the quality management of public transportation services in the Tunisian context during the COVID-19 outbreak. The empirical study was based on the conjoint analysis approach. The sample collected is composed of 250 individuals who often use the train as a means of transport and the pairwise comparison method is adopted for conjoint analysis. This study assesses quality management of customer service and takes into account four aspects of service quality such as comfort, way of reservation (possibility of online booking), speed, and safety. The findings revealed that the optimal combination of service offered by the Tunisian national railway company is characterized by the terms “first class”, “online booking”, “express”, and “safety”. It is favored by Tunisian customers during the COVID-19 outbreak.Additionally, the results show that the maximum utility corresponds to the “safety train” modality followed by “second class”, “online booking”, and finally “stopover”. Moreover, the use of new information and communication technologies (NICT) has importance for train users during the COVID-19 outbreak. Indeed, Tunisians are looking for safety and measures to reduce crowding in a train, to minimize the risk of contagion of COVID-19 outbreak.