Volume 26, Issue 4 pp. 468-489

A replication and extension of quality management into the supply chain

Hale Kaynak

Hale Kaynak

The University of Texas–Pan American, Department of Management, Marketing, & International Business, College of Business Administration, 1201 West University Drive, Edinburg, TX 78539-2999, United States

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Janet L. Hartley

Janet L. Hartley

Bowling Green State University, Department of Management, College of Business Administration, Bowling Green, OH 43551, United States

Tel.: +419 372 8645; fax: +1 419 372 6057.

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First published: 22 June 2007
Citations: 317
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 956 381 3380; fax: +1 956 384 5065.

Abstract

As competition moves beyond a single firm into the supply chain, researchers are beginning to explore quality management (QM) in a supply chain context. The literature suggests that supply chain management (SCM) consists of internal practices, which are contained within a firm, and external practices, which cross organizational boundaries integrating a firm with its customers and suppliers. Supplier quality management and customer focus are two QM practices that are also clearly in the domain of SCM. In this study we investigate how these two supply chain management-related quality practices lead to improved performance and examine the practices that precede and mediate those relationships. In doing so, we replicate and extend the relationships among the QM practices and their effects on firm performance suggested in Kaynak [Kaynak, H., 2003. The relationship between total quality management practices and their effects on firm performance. Journal of Operations Management 21, 405–435] using survey data gathered from firms operating in the U.S. The inclusion of customer focus and supplier quality management in the QM model supports the importance of internal and external integration for quality performance. Implications of the results for researchers and practitioners are discussed, and further research implications are suggested.

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