Does the isomorphic implementation of the tqm philosophy effectively lead to the simultaneous attainment of legitimacy and efficiency targets?

Abstract

Drawing on the new institutional theory and the resources based view of the firm (RBV), this study tries to shed light upon the idea that isomorphic organizational changes seek legitimacy over efficiency. Using data from 102 Spanish companies and employing partial least squares, a variance-based structural equation modeling technique, this study concludes that both objectives are achievable simultaneously when firms implement total quality management (TQM) as an integrative stream of both theories. Furthermore, empirical results reveal that: (i) institutional pressures (IP) condition significantly the implementation of TQM, (ii) TQM exerts a double mediating role in the IP-legitimacy and IP-efficiency relationships, and (iii) both efficiency and legitimacy objectives are achieved by means of TQM. However, we observe a dual phenomenon: (i) while we find a significant positive effect of TQM on overall performance (OP) via efficiency and (ii) we failed to find support for the TQM-OP link via legitimacy.

Investigating digital technologies’ implementation in circular businesses: Evidence from the going circular path

“…Researchers have outlined how economic entities tend to (a) imitate practices adopted by a considerable number of organizations when they reach a critical mass of adopters (i.e., frequency-based imitation); (b) implement practices legitimized by a smaller group of other companies deemed successful or with higher status (i.e., trait-based imitation); and (c) become inclined through the observation of other businesses' outcomes following a managerial decision or implemented practice to resemble successful realities by mimicking the same practices (i.e., outcome-based imitation) (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983;Haunschild & Miner, 1997;Zucker, 1987). In this vein, companies may aim at translating circular purposes into their business model to tackle uncertainties, taking inspiration from widely adopted practices or successful circular processes traced back to a virtuous set of sustainability-sensitive actors (Carmona-Márquez et al, 2022;Hopkinson et al, 2018).…”

“…Given the positivist philosophical tradition drawn from Eisenhardt (1989), we decided to investigate the advanced research question through a grounded theory approach (Corbin & Strauss, 2007;Glaser & Strauss, 2017;O'Reilly, Paper, & Marx, 2012). The present research builds on institutional theory to explore companies' isomorphism in adopting digital technologies to achieve circularity (Carmona-Márquez, Leal-Rodríguez, Leal-Millán, & Vázquez-Sánchez, 2022;DiMaggio & Powell, 1983;Do, Mishra, Colicchia, Creazza, & Ramudhin, 2022;Haunschild & Miner, 1997;Meherishi, Narayana, & Ranjani, 2019;Meyer & Rowan, 1977).…”