The role of quality practices in service organizations

Gustafsson, Anders; Nilsson, Lennart; Johnson, Michael D.

doi:10.1108/09564230310474183

Cited by 95 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…For example, Terziovski and Samson's (1999) analysis was supportive, since size moderated the association between QM and performance, in particular, defect rates and warranty costs. When focusing on specific QM dimensions, Gustafsson et al (2003) found that some practices related to process orientation directly impact customer satisfaction in large organizations, but this effect was not evident in smaller organizations. Hendricks and Singhal (2001), however, concluded that smaller firms can benefit more from QM.…”

Section: Contingency Analysis Of the Efqm Criteriamentioning

confidence: 98%

What is the effect of size on the use of the EFQM excellence model?

Escrig

Menezes

2016

IJOPM

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Purpose By contrasting a contingency with a universal approach to business excellence models (BEMs), the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of size on the use of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model by organizations that were officially “Recognized for Excellence” in Spain. It considers the potential differences between large organizations and SMEs on the level of adoption of EFQM criteria and on the impact that enablers-criteria may have on key performance measures. Design/methodology/approach This study uses actual sub-criteria and criteria scores attained by organizations in their assessment for EFQM recognition. Scores of a population of 216 organizations are analyzed via analysis of variance, factor and structural equations models. Findings Although there are some criteria in the EFQM model that appear to be universally adopted irrespective of size, the empirical analyses indicate that size may shape the adoption of other criteria and the impact that enablers can have on results, thus supporting a contingency perspective. Moreover, the findings call for the revision of the relationships embedded in the EFQM model. Originality/value In contrast to most previous research, which relied on surveys of managers’ perceptions, this study uses the actual scores achieved by organizations in their assessment for EFQM recognition. It addresses the effect of size on the whole model, which so far has been neglected in the literature. All in all this study contributes to the literature on contingency approaches to best practices, and more specifically to BEMs. To the practitioner, it provides guidelines for addressing perceived performance gaps in their pursuit of recognition for excellence.

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Section: Contingency Analysis Of the Efqm Criteriamentioning

confidence: 98%

What is the effect of size on the use of the EFQM excellence model?

Escrig

Menezes

2016

IJOPM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In its second wave, it was labelled total quality management (TQM), while today it is often referred to as Six Sigma or lean production. These quality initiatives have been used to improve organisational performance, firstly on the manufacturing floor, and later in all parts of the organisation, not only in manufacturing firms but also in service firms (Gustafsson, Nilsson, & Johnson, 2003;Lam, Lee, Ooi, & Lin, 2011;Talib, Rahman, & Qureshi, 2011). Although new services launched continually to satisfy existing and future customer needs, customer satisfaction with services does not reach the same levels as it does for products (Fornell, Johnson, Anderson, Cha, & Everitt Bryant, 1996;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing quality initiative – does the quality profile really change?

Johansson

Witell

Elg

2013

Total Quality Management & Business Excellence

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“…The first sphere is related to the use of internal activities in the provider's sphere that influence the improvement of the customer's service perception (e.g., Calabrese 2012; Edvardsson, Larsson, and Setterlind 1997;Gustafsson, Nilsson, and Johnson 2003). These internal activities can be regarded as prerequisites for the coherence of the service outcome with customer expectations (Edvardsson and Olsson 1996), which in turn influences customer satisfaction and business performance (Gustafsson, Nilsson, and Johnson 2003). The second sphere is the sphere of interaction that takes place during the moment of exchange (e.g., Crane and Clarke 1988;Wu et al 2015).…”

Section: Service Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Dean and Bowen 1994, p. 395) In a business context, the role of quality management has been debated extensively. Many studies have tested the relationship between implementing quality management and firm performance (e.g., Anderson, Fornell, and Lehmann 1994;Baird, Hu, and Reeve 2011;Gustafsson, Nilsson, and Johnson 2003;Lemak, Reed, and Satish 1997;Nilsson, Johnson, and Gustafsson 2001;O'Neill, Sohal, and Teng 2016). Although the results are contradictory, most studies show a positive relation between quality management and the performance of a firm.…”

Section: Interventions and Principlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Solution Quality

Johansson¹

2016

Linköping Studies in Science and Technology. Dissertations

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The integration of services and products into solutions can open up new business opportunities for firms. This thesis concerns how firms can provide solutions that are perceived as high quality. Solutions are often provided over several years, which implies a changed customer relationship compared to product provisions. Since the solution aims to support the customer's activities, firms face new challenges when introducing solutions. One challenge is to integrate all components and activities of the solution, and simultaneously support the customer's activities. In addition, the firm must ensure that the solution and all of its parts are of high quality.Most of the existing research on quality is related to the management of a firm's internal activities and the interaction during exchange. Within the research on quality, customer orientation means that a firm should manage the relevant product or service to meet customer requirements. When this is achieved, the product or service is of high quality. Since solutions are seen as services and products that are integrated as an outcome, as well as a customer relational process that aims to support the customer's activities, firms have little to learn from previous research about the quality of solutions.The aim of this thesis is to increase knowledge about how to manage solution quality. The thesis combines insights from research on quality with research on solutions and servitization. Three research questions are answered. The first question concerns the content of solution quality; the second deals with how firms can, with support from interventions, meet the new challenges that arise from solution provision; and the third question concerns how customers can be involved to achieve solution quality. The research questions are answered through five papers based on literature studies and empirical data. The papers contribute to an increased knowledge of solution quality and how firms can work to achieve it.The results of the thesis suggest that solution quality is built on seven quality dimensions: reliability, communicability, internal consistency, empathy, approachability, tangibility, and adaptability. In addition, knowledge of processes and customer relationships are two prerequisites for the concept. These dimensions and prerequisites are supported by interventions that can provide a change. However, it has become evident that whatever intervention is used must be related to the dimensions that are supposed to be improved. Furthermore, customer involvement is argued to be an intervention to support the prerequisites for solution quality, especially iv during the solution development. The results of this thesis extend the research on quality by increasing the knowledge of the solution quality concept and by changing the view of customers and their involvement during solution development.v SAMMANFATTNING Den här avhandlingen berör hur företag kan möjliggöra så att produkter och tjänster, integrerade i så kallade helhetslösningar, kan levereras med hög kval...

show abstract

The role of quality practices in service organizations

Cited by 95 publications

References 25 publications

What is the effect of size on the use of the EFQM excellence model?

What is the effect of size on the use of the EFQM excellence model?

Changing quality initiative – does the quality profile really change?

Understanding Solution Quality

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