Quality management as a determinant factor of productivity

• Published in: International journal of productivity and performance management Vol. 68; no. 4; pp. 675 - 698
• Main Authors: Ruales Guzmán, Bertha Viviana, Brun, Alessandro, Castellanos Domínguez, Oscar Fernando
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Emerald Publishing Limited 10-06-2019
• Subjects: Productivity; Literature review; Determinant factor; Quality management
• ISSN: 1741-0401; 1758-6658
• DOI: 10.1108/IJPPM-07-2018-0251

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to analyse the current state of the literature on the relationship between quality management (QM) and productivity as a performance indicator; second, to identify the key constructs of QM practices related to productivity; and, finally, to reveal whether QM can actually be regarded as a determinant of productivity.
Design/methodology/approach
This research was carried out through a systematic literature review, considering 150 papers that studied this relationship between 1997 and 2017 and another 37 papers on the internal determinants of productivity.
Findings
The findings revealed that human resource management, top management and process management were the more relevant constructs of QM practices related to productivity. In addition, 89 per cent of the internal determinants of productivity were related to the proposed constructs of QM practices, which suggest that QM is a determinant factor of productivity.
Originality/value
This review analysed the literature on the relationship between QM and productivity, as few studies have done before, generating original, interesting and useful findings that can guide future research and that also represent a useful tool for researchers, practitioners, managers and policy makers.