The impacts of Quality Management Practices on business performance: An empirical investigation from China

In this paper, the way that Quality Management Practices (QMPs) impact quality performance, R&D performance, and business performance is examined. The possible moderating effects of industry type and competition level on the above influencing relationships were investigated as well. A two-round questionnaire survey was conducted to 196 manufacturing and service firms in West China, and hypotheses were tested using structural equation model with LISREL software. The result suggests that Quality Management Practices do not have positive impact on firms' business performance directly, while have indirect impacts on business performance mediated by quality performance and R&D performance. Furthermore, we also find that industry type moderates the relationships between Quality Management Practices and business performance, while competition doesn't.