Purpose -The purpose is to examine the role of TQM in a strategy-TQM-performance model. More specifically, it seeks to investigate whether TQM has a driving role in the formation of strategy or has a mediating effect in the strategy-performance relationship. Design/methodology/approach -A survey was used to collect data. The instrument was assessed for its validity and reliability. Structural equation modelling was employed. Findings -TQM influences strategy formulation process and it is a dynamic resource that contributes to the achievement of a sustainable competitive advantage. In addition, soft TQM has a higher impact than hard TQM on competitive strategy formulation and on performance.Research limitations/implications -The model developed and tested can be enriching to the TQM, strategic management, and quality management fields. Future research is recommended to use methods other than self-report questionnaires and to account for certain behavioral factors that can influence the relationships investigated in the study. Practical implications -The findings provide insights to the need to integrate TQM with the various stages of the strategy formulation process, with an emphasis on the soft elements of TQM, including customer satisfaction, management and leadership, and employee relations. Originality/value -Despite the remarkable contributions of existent research, there is a lack of substantive research that examines the relationship between the hard and soft components of TQM on one hand and the two types of competitive strategy -differentiation and cost leadership -on the other. This gap is filled by this study.

If 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. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between competitive strategy, total quality management (TQM), and continuous improvement of international project management (CIIPM). Design/methodology/approach -Based on a literature review, a theoretical model and five hypotheses are developed. A cross-sectional data set collected from 268 international project managers based in four countries is used to test the theoretical model. Findings -The results from the statistical analysis suggest that competitive strategy does not directly influence the CIIPM performance, but it influences through the mediation of TQM practices. The results also suggest that "human resource-based" TQM elements have stronger influence toward CIIPM performance than "technology-based" TQM elements.Research limitations/implications -The study used four TQM variables, which originated from the MBNQA (1995) framework. Although the four variables are robust and sufficiently represent the TQM dimension, the multi-dimensional nature of TQM practice can be investigated further. Further, the study only utilized a single variable of CIIPM in investigating international project management performance. As future TQM and international project management practices go through evolutions, additional elements may be incorporated into the three-domain contingency model. Practical implications -The study results suggest that the TQM elements fully mediate the relationship between competitive strategy and CIIPM. This implies that organizations need an innovative management methodology, such as the TQM practice, in order to achieve competitive strategy materializing towards international project management performance. Further, the findings suggest that it is the soft TQM elements (i.e. top management's leadership, compensation, training and empowerment) that impact the CIIPM more significantly. Originality/value -Although numerous classical studies are reported in various contexts involving competitive strategy, TQM practice, and project management performance, no existing study focuses on how these three domains are linked together.

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Purpose -The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship between the organizational culture (organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB)), TQM practice and organizational performance of the manquiladora companies. Design/methodology/approach -A structural equation modelling based on a cross-sectional survey ðN ¼ 230Þ is conducted. Findings -As multinational companies (MNCs) implement innovative management methodology such as the TQM practices, their organizational cultural elements play significant roles towards the outcome. The organizational culture, represented by OCB, significantly impacts how TQM is managed and implemented. Furthermore, the results point out "soft TQM elements" have more significant impact than "hard TQM elements" towards firm's performance.Research limitations -The study includes a specific location (Maquiladora) only. Practical implications -The findings suggest that management should also focus on the intrinsic motivations of employees represented by OCB rather than the sole emphasis on training and education.Originality/value -The study supports the perspective that underlines the importance of the balance between soft and hard TQM, as well as the significance of OCB for a successful implementation of TQM.

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