The influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance: perceptions from managers
Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to investigate the influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance and also to examine the link between quality improvement and organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses data from perceptions from managers in 255 ele...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Emerald Group Publishing
2008
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40285/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40285/1/The%20influence%20of%20soft%20factors%20on%20quality%20improvement%20and%20performance%20perceptions%20from%20managers.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848849381835407360 |
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| author | Abdullah, Muhammad Madi Uli, Jegak Tari, Juan Jose |
| author_facet | Abdullah, Muhammad Madi Uli, Jegak Tari, Juan Jose |
| author_sort | Abdullah, Muhammad Madi |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to investigate the influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance and also to examine the link between quality improvement and organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses data from perceptions from managers in 255 electrical and electronics (E&E) firms in Malaysia and it develops regression and correlation analysis to test the relationships between soft factors, quality improvement and organizational performance. Findings: The following soft factors were found to have significant influence on quality improvement: management commitment; customer focus; employee involvement; training and education; and reward and recognition. Organizational performance was significantly influenced by the following soft factors: management commitment; customer focus; and employee involvement. Finally, this paper empirically shows that firm performance will increase when the organizations implement more quality improvement practices. Practical implications: The results of this paper can be used by managers to prioritize the implementation of the soft factors. For instance, those factors that are found to have a positive impact on quality improvement practice and performance can be recommended to managers so that they can allocate resources to improve these factors to achieve higher organizational performance. Originality/value: This paper identifies the soft factors that can influence the quality improvement practice and organizational performance in E&E Malaysian firms. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T09:49:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-40285 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T09:49:30Z |
| publishDate | 2008 |
| publisher | Emerald Group Publishing |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-402852015-09-15T08:15:39Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40285/ The influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance: perceptions from managers Abdullah, Muhammad Madi Uli, Jegak Tari, Juan Jose Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to investigate the influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance and also to examine the link between quality improvement and organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses data from perceptions from managers in 255 electrical and electronics (E&E) firms in Malaysia and it develops regression and correlation analysis to test the relationships between soft factors, quality improvement and organizational performance. Findings: The following soft factors were found to have significant influence on quality improvement: management commitment; customer focus; employee involvement; training and education; and reward and recognition. Organizational performance was significantly influenced by the following soft factors: management commitment; customer focus; and employee involvement. Finally, this paper empirically shows that firm performance will increase when the organizations implement more quality improvement practices. Practical implications: The results of this paper can be used by managers to prioritize the implementation of the soft factors. For instance, those factors that are found to have a positive impact on quality improvement practice and performance can be recommended to managers so that they can allocate resources to improve these factors to achieve higher organizational performance. Originality/value: This paper identifies the soft factors that can influence the quality improvement practice and organizational performance in E&E Malaysian firms. Emerald Group Publishing 2008 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40285/1/The%20influence%20of%20soft%20factors%20on%20quality%20improvement%20and%20performance%20perceptions%20from%20managers.pdf Abdullah, Muhammad Madi and Uli, Jegak and Tari, Juan Jose (2008) The influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance: perceptions from managers. The TQM Journal, 20 (5). pp. 436-452. ISSN 1754-2731; ESSN: 1754-274X http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/17542730810898412 10.1108/17542730810898412 |
| spellingShingle | Abdullah, Muhammad Madi Uli, Jegak Tari, Juan Jose The influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance: perceptions from managers |
| title | The influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance: perceptions from managers |
| title_full | The influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance: perceptions from managers |
| title_fullStr | The influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance: perceptions from managers |
| title_full_unstemmed | The influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance: perceptions from managers |
| title_short | The influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance: perceptions from managers |
| title_sort | influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance: perceptions from managers |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40285/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40285/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40285/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40285/1/The%20influence%20of%20soft%20factors%20on%20quality%20improvement%20and%20performance%20perceptions%20from%20managers.pdf |