Deployment of business excellence in Asia: an exploratory study

Key Success Factors That Enable IT Service Providers to Achieve Organizational Performance: Evidence from Romania

The recent preoccupations of companies are quite varied, but most of them have the same objective—the improvement of organizational performance. The service area is a very popular one among individual clients or legal entities, the latter having many more interactions with companies in the IT area following the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this paper is to determine the factors that contribute to improving the organizational performance of IT service companies. The study involves exploratory, quantitative research that analyzes the perceptions of employees in the Romanian IT sector regarding the performance of their companies, as well as the key success factors that enable its achievement. The results indicate that organizational culture, organizational innovation level, service quality, and employee skills are some of the most important variables that can influence the organizational performance of Romanian IT service providers, thus contributing to their economic sustainability. Moreover, in this field, entrepreneurs should be more concerned about developing employees’ skills and improving their satisfaction, as they are one of the key resources for a sustainable business in the IT industry.

Improving service quality

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of total quality management (TQM) internalization factors on the relationship between the proposed drivers (internal/external motives) and outcomes (external benefits and financial results).

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of quality managers, this study adopts a two-step methodological approach to explore the key components of TQM internalization via an initial exploratory study followed up with a quantitative study to examine the relationships between the proposed drivers using structural equation modeling.

Findings

The qualitative study revealed the key components of TQM implementation factors, namely top management commitment, middle management commitment and audits, training and employees’ commitment. The quantitative results show that a positive relationship between external motives and TQM internalization was not supported; yet, the results supported the influence of internal motives on TQM internalization. Further, the results revealed a significant relationship between TQM internalization and internal benefits but not financial benefits. Finally, a strong positive link between internal and financial benefits emerged.

Research limitations/implications

The study findings are only based on the perceptions of quality managers and future research could test the proposed model using other units of analysis in order to fully capture the role of TQM internalization.

Practical implications

The findings show that award model adoption is a significant tool for quality improvement in organizations, a procedure that drives both internal and financial benefits. Further, the study points out areas that companies should emphasize in order to successfully implement a quality award model and therefore harvest its potential benefits.

Originality/value

The paper proposes an empirically tested conceptual framework that examines vital issues concerning the internalization of the TQM approach through award models, thus providing valuable outcomes for decision makers to improve service quality.

EFQM model for overall excellence of Indian thermal power generating sector

Purpose

The generic nature of business excellence models and arbitrary approaches followed by organizations to achieve excellence has triggered new approaches to attain excellence; one such approach is to have country- and industry-specific model. World Energy Council has developed an Energy Trilemma Index, which gives relative energy performances of almost 125 countries based on comprehensive energy matrix (affordability, availability and environment impact). Presently, India ranks at 91 as per this index thereby making this sector prudent case for specific excellence model for sector’s overall excellence. The purpose of this paper is to propose European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model with Indian thermal power generating sector specific factors.

Design/methodology/approach

The study followed a research approach that combines literature review, qualitative and quantitative techniques. This includes analysis of the literature related to the subject, qualitative analysis to validate gap areas around EFQM model and identify factors critical to Indian thermal power sector. Quantitative analysis was done using SmartPLS 3.2.7 software for structural equation modeling–partial least square.

Findings

The research proposes inclusion of Indian thermal power generating sector specific factors in EFQM model, which in turn portrays balanced set of results and corresponding enablers for achieving excellence in the sector. The biggest take away will be sustained and effective contribution toward society and environment by this sector.

Originality/value

This is first of its kind study in India and globally for thermal power generating sector. It will trigger quality consciousness among power generating companies. For India, such excellence mission will definitely help nation to improve efforts toward 24×7 electricity and electricity to all.

The leadership criterion: challenges in pursuing excellence in the Jordanian public sector

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges that face leaders when implementing business excellence programmes in the Jordanian public sector.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study adopted a content analysis approach to analyse the excellence assessment reports that have been produced by the King Abdullah II Centre for Excellence. The sample comprises ten public organisations which have participated in the King Abdullah Award for Excellence more than once and acknowledge in their reports that they have failed to achieve satisfactory results.

Findings

– The key challenges to effect the implementation of leadership criteria in the public sector in Jordan were found to be poor strategic planning, lack of employee empowerment, weaknesses in benchmarking performance, and a lack of financial resources, poor integration and coordination, and poor measurement system.

Practical implications

– This study proposes a conceptual model for the assessment of challenges that face managers when seeking to implement excellence in leadership in the Jordanian public sector.

Originality/value

– Leadership challenges in the public sector are generally widely studied, but it is important to gain a better understanding of how these challenges can be overcome. In comparison to many existing studies, this research has provided specific and detailed insights these organisational excellence challenges in the public sector and provides a conceptual model for use by other researchers into the future.

Deploying business excellence – success factors for high performance

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of how organisations successfully deploy business excellence (BE) by comparing the tools and strategies implemented by organisations at different levels of BE maturity.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study used a combination of a questionnaire, discussion groups and interviews with respondents including private sector organisations across India, Japan, Republic of China, Singapore and Thailand. These countries were selected due to them being considered as having the most advanced BE organisations in Asia by the Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) that commissioned the study. Once triangulated, the quantitative data were analysed through use of the IBM SPSS Statistical software package.

Findings

– The study has shown that on average, organisations with higher BE maturity outperform their less mature counterparts. The study also revealed that organisations with a high BE maturity were more likely to use specific tools and were more likely to use some of these tools more effectively. Finally, the study identified differences in strategic approaches to BE between organisations with high and low BE maturity.

Research limitations/implications

– Only five Asian countries were considered due to resource limitations. However, the study of 74 organisations represents one of the most comprehensive to date with 30 of these organisations being award winners.

Practical implications

– The findings offer guidance to those organisations wishing to progress from a low level of BE maturity to a more advanced level. The findings have already assisted the APO and its 20 member countries in the development and implementation of strategic interventions at a regional and national level.

Originality/value

– No other study in Asia has been conducted on such a large sample of BE-orientated organisations. The study was also unique in its focus on the tools and strategies that should be used for successful BE deployment. In addition, the study is one of only a few in Asia that has studied the results of BE on organisational performance.