Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyse how soft and hard quality management (QM) practices enhance incremental and radical product and process innovation, and operational and financial results, and the paths from QM to financial results via innovation and operational results. The paper examines these relationships applying Partial Least Squares (PLS) and using data from 105 firms. The results show that soft QM is associated with hard practices, with incremental and radical product and process innovation, and with operational and financial results, but hard issues have no positive association with innovation, nor with operational and financial results. The results also show the path from soft QM to: (a) operational results via innovation, and (b) financial results via innovation, via operational results, and via both innovation and operational results. This study adds to the literature the mediating role of both innovation and operational results on the relationships between soft QM and financial results. It contributes to practitioners by showing the importance of both innovation and operational results to strength the association between QM and financial results, and the different paths from QM to financial results.

摘要

本研究的目的是分析软硬质量管理 (QM) 实践如何增强增量和激进的产品和流程创新以及运营和财务结果，以及从 QM 通过创新和运营结果实现财务结果的路径。该论文应用偏最小二乘法 (PLS) 并使用来自 105 家公司的数据检验了这些关系。结果表明，软 QM 与硬实践、增量和激进的产品和流程创新以及运营和财务结果相关，但硬问题与创新、运营和财务结果没有正相关。结果还显示了从软 QM 到：(a) 通过创新获得运营结果，以及 (b) 通过创新获得财务结果，通过运营结果，以及通过创新和运营结果。这项研究在文献中增加了创新和运营结果对软质量管理和财务结果之间关系的中介作用。它通过展示创新和运营结果的重要性来加强 QM 与财务结果之间的关联，以及从 QM 到财务结果的不同路径，为从业者做出贡献。