Åsa Rönnbäck

A review of empirical investigations comparing quality initiatives in manufacturing and service organizations

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate, by reviewing the literature, the relationship between quality management and business performance with a comparison between manufacturing and service organizations. Design/methodology/approach - This meta-analytic study critically examines the literature and evaluates the business performance implications of adopting quality management principles in manufacturing and service organizations. Altogether, 14 published research studies were identified that focused on the relationship between quality management and business performance with a comparison between manufacturing and service organizations. Findings - The results show several inconsistencies in previous research when it comes to the relationship between quality management and business performance when comparing manufacturing and service organizations. Some of these inconsistencies concern the principles of supplier relationships, leadership commitment and customer orientation. The inconsistencies can be explained by a number of factors: the difference in size of the organizations included in the studies, the cultural aspect and the research design. Regarding consistencies, two quality management principles stand out in several studies as being more central for service organizations: employee management and process orientation. Practical implications - The results can provide guidance for service managers aiming to implement quality management. In addition, the paper provides guidance to researchers about methodological issues so that future research can provide more reliable and valid results. Originality/value - The paper provides a critical review of previous research on what principles of quality management should be adopted in a service organization.

The paradigm shift to Business Excellence 2.0

Purpose – This paper aims to contribute to the debate on business excellence by comparing the business excellence models of Malcolm Baldrige, European Foundation for Quality Management and Swedish Institute for Quality. By assessing these in relation to today’s new business landscape, the authors suggest that emphasising issues such as stakeholder co-creation of value, stakeholder dialogue, service innovation, service logic, business ethics and different views on resource integration can alter the view of quality improvement from economic, social and environmental perspectives, in turn, leading to Business Excellence 2.0. Design/methodology/approach – This study examines three business excellence models and compares their adoption of the concepts of today’s new business landscape. The study focuses on whether the models’ fundamental principles and concepts are aligned with the views on sustainability, stakeholder co-creation and service innovation. Findings – The examined business excellence models do not...

Using interventions to change the quality profile of an organisation

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how a quality profile can evolve over time and, in particular, how different kinds of interventions can further develop or change an existing quality profile., – Data was collected over a five‐year period, including a literature review, interviews, a document study and observations to capture the quality profile and associated interventions. The study was carried out in a service organisation in the public sector., – This study shows that the quality profile can change over time due to the use of specific interventions. If a company wants to emphasise a specific quality principle, it must target the quality principle with one or more interventions. However, even if a quality principle is targeted, there is no guarantee that the quality principle will show improvement in the quality profile. Also, one main finding is that the quality profile becomes more even over time due to the internal consistency of the quality principles., – This paper sheds light on the need to study the adoption of individual quality principles and the evolution of the quality profile of an organisation., – The results can provide insights for organisations aiming to embark on a quality programme, specifically how to design and develop a quality profile., – This research implies that the quality profile is a recurring, general phenomenon in all quality management improvement programmes. In other words, successful implementation of quality management requires a cohesive quality profile.

Quality management systems and value creation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of a quality management system (QMS) for the assurance and improvement of value in an inter-organizational business relationship. The study is carried out in the public transportation industry where service provision has been outsourced. Design/methodology/approach – In-depth interviews are conducted with 26 participants from two organizations involved in an inter-organizational business relationship. From the interview material, the authors identified the drivers that create value for the inter-organizational business relationship and for the customers of public transportation. All value drivers are categorized according to the central areas in a QMS. Findings – The results show that internal processes and management responsibility are central areas where value is destroyed. Since service provision has been outsourced, this means that the intended value is never experienced by the customer. Research limitations/implications – The identified value creators and destroyers originate from the suppliers’ view and focus on how the different suppliers create value for customers. Practical implications – Managers should acquire knowledge about the value they create or destroy and focus on improving the value-creation processes. The QMS can be used to assure and improve value creation in an inter-organizational business relationship. Originality/value – The research sheds light on the difficulties and possibilities in value creation where service provision has been outsourced. Keywords Transport management, Quality management, Outsourcing Paper type Research paper

Value creation in outsourced service provision in public transportation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe the perceived value drivers (benefits and sacrifices) in outsourced service provision in public transportation. The authors focus on the suppliers’ perception of value creation for customers and value creation in a business-to-business relationship. Design/methodology/approach – In-depth interviews are conducted with 26 managers and employees participating in a business-to-business relationship concerning what create value following the critical incident technique. Findings – The results show that perceived benefits and sacrifices are related to the product, the service and the relationship. In addition, there are certain prerequisites in the public transportation system that inhibit value creation, and much value is destroyed in the business relationships before it reaches the passengers. Research limitations/implications – This paper reveals a need to find new quality strategies for the improvement and assurance of value creation in outsourced service provision. The value drivers identified originate from the suppliers’ view. Practical implications – Managers should acquire knowledge regarding the value they create or destroy, both within their organisation and in their business network, and thus ultimately for their customers. Moreover, drivers that destroy value should be identified, measured, analysed, and managed. Originality/value – The paper contributes to a better understanding of the difficulties in creating value when service provision has been outsourced. Keywords Value analysis, Outsourcing, Transportation, Quality management Paper type Research paper

Quality in the public procurement process

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate four dimensions of how to integrate quality in the public procurement process from three perspectives. The study was carried out in the public transportation industry where service provision has been outsourced.Design/methodology/approach – An explorative case study was carried out using two data collection methods. The first involved a document study that considered the integration of quality in the public procurement process. This led to the second method, which involved conducting in‐depth interviews to follow up on the procurement and the role of quality with the participants.Findings – The findings provide insights into how quality can be included in the public procurement process and, in particular, how self‐assessment can be used to evaluate the “best quality practice”. The quality maturity of the industry also has an influence on three dimensions: the choice of quality model, the weighting between price and quality and how the tenders perform t...

A case study on quality management and digital innovation: Relationship and learning aspects

The purpose of this paper is to explore the maturity of quality management and digital innovation in an organisation. Furthermore, the purpose is to analyse the relationship between and learning op ...

Use of customer satisfaction measurements to drive improvements

Trends like servitisation and globalisation have increased the importance of intangible assets, and, accordingly, a need for non-financial performance measurements, the most frequently used being ‘customer satisfaction’. A key argument is that high levels of customer satisfaction have a positive effect on organisations financial performance. Still, many organisations fail to use these measurements as drivers for quality improvements. How customer satisfaction measurements are used in organisations varies between knowledge-enhancing, action-oriented, and symbolic. This paper studies how customer satisfaction information usage processes differ between organisations utilising the measurements in an action-oriented manner to support improvements, and organisations using them in a knowledge-enhancing or symbolic manner. Based on empirical data from 24 service organisations, the paper concludes that all organisations would benefit from more activities related to the strategy phase of customer satisfaction information usage, that is, activities that outline for what purpose and how these measurements are to be used. Moreover, to use customer satisfaction measurements to drive improvements requires a combination of strategic, long-term thinking, and concrete operationalisation of the measurements; merely working in a knowledge-enhancing manner with a lack of action orientation might end up only a symbolic use of customer satisfaction measurements.

Quality culture deployment – using behaviours to explain, diagnose and improve a quality culture

Purpose Today’s organisations face the challenge of measuring the right things and then using those measurements as a starting point to work with improved quality. The failure to generate a shared value base is pointed out as one main cause for the inability to effectively apply quality management and lean within organisations; thus, it appears central to measure these values. However, the measuring of values and behaviours seems to be missing within both concepts. Therefore, there is a need for a tool that measures not only quality values but also behaviours that support or obstruct a quality culture. The purpose of this paper is to describe how a measuring tool which measures quality culture can be designed and structured. Design/methodology/approach A project with the aim to measure and develop quality culture started in 2015 by three Swedish universities/institutes and seven organisations. During several workshops, quality values and supportive and obstructive behaviours were developed and described. This resulted in a survey where employees of the participating organisations ranked performance and importance of the described behaviours. The results were presented and discussed in a fourth workshop. Findings A framework of behaviours and a measurement tool for a quality culture are presented in this paper. Originality/value The framework of behaviours, supporting or obstructing a quality culture, is original and may be very useful to diagnose and develop a quality culture.