Håkan Torstensson

Similarities and differences between TQM, six sigma and lean

Purpose – During the last decades, different quality management concepts, including total quality management (TQM), six sigma and lean, have been applied by many different organisations. Although m ...

Aligning critical success factors to organizational design: A study of Swedish textile and clothing firms

Purpose – Concurrent designing of products, processes and supply chains (three‐dimensional concurrent engineering (3‐DCE)) has proved to be beneficial in rendering holistic, market‐responsive architecture to organizations through linkages created by dynamic capability development and innovation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the promises of 3‐DCE in synthesizing and sustaining critical success factors (CSFs) for organizations, and also to underpin the existing gap between its offerings in devising the CSFs and the “real solutions” essential in a dynamic systems perspective.Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts an intermediary approach combining both explanatory and exploratory researches. The conceptual framework of the paper is based on a matrix for organizational mapping of textile, clothing and fashion (TCF) firms prepared through content analysis. This is followed by an extensive semi‐structured survey. The selection of firms was based on contacting TEKO and Europages. Usable r...

Resilience challenges for textile enterprises in a transitional economy and regional trade perspective – a study of Kyrgyz conditions

This paper aims to contribute to the resilience development of the textile sector in a transitional economy, based on a case study of the Kyrgyz Republic, where the transition to a free market system generated broken supply chains, low diversification, a high open economy level of the textile sector and dependence on international trade regulations. The approach used is based on theories of organisational resilience, literature studies and fieldwork. Scenarios are developed and analysed by event tree and SWOT analysis, to identify resilience properties of the textile sector. Findings focus on the implications of future membership or non-membership, respectively, in the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, where both supportive and adverse effects have been identified. The results contribute to the knowledge of the transitional economy conditions and serve as a guideline for stakeholders about enhancing resilience, both at the industrial and organisational levels, of the Kyrgyz textile sector.