Drivers of Total Quality Management Adoption in South African Manufacturing Companies: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

Authors

  • Professor Jean Damascene Mvunabandi Durban University of Technology image/svg+xml Author
  • Ncazelo Mncwabe Durban University of Technology image/svg+xml Author
  • Ferina Marimuthu Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51137/wrp.ijarbm.559

Keywords:

Manufacturing Companies, Process Management, South Africa, Total Quality Management Practices

Abstract

The study’s aim is to investigate the key factors that influence the total quality management practices adopted by manufacturing organisations in the Durban steel industry. The study used quantitative approach. Data was gathered from 100 participants who were selected purposely. Robustness analysis was performed using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) via structural equation modeling (SEM) to estimate statistical models. The results of the study proved that that that employee training, committed management, a customer-focused approach, sound relationships with suppliers, and clear goals would enable organizations in Durban’s steel industry to improve their performance and thus gain a competitive edge. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on Total Quality Management in organizations and its impact in the steel manufacturing industry. Further research is recommended to explore the impact of the adoption of Total Quality Management among South African organisations and beyond. The integration multiple theoretical frameworks. The integration of multiple theoretical frameworks such as management theory, human relations theory, Fayol’s administrative management theory and Taylor’s scientific management theory provided a novel theoretical not widely applied in South African steel manufacturing industry. The study also provided a robust agenda for future research.

References

Abbas, J. (2020). Impact of total quality management on corporate green performance through the mediating role of corporate social responsibility. Journal of cleaner production, 242, 118458.

Abu-Rumman, A. (2018). TQM and competitive advantage: experiences within the engineering, electronics, and IT industrial sectors in Amman. Excellence in Services 21th International Conference,

Adebanjo, D., Teh, P.-L., Ahmed, P. K., Atay, E., & Ractham, P. (2020). Competitive priorities, employee management and development and sustainable manufacturing performance in Asian organizations. Sustainability, 12(13), 5335.

Ahmed, A. O., & Idris, A. A. (2020). Examining the relationship between soft total quality management (TQM) aspects and employees' job satisfaction in “ISO 9001” Sudanese oil companies. The TQM Journal, 33(1), 95–124.

Akhter, S., Malik, M., Khwaja, M., & Mehmood, S. (2018). Flexible HRM practices and employee retention: developing and testing of an integrated model. International Journal of Modern Management Sciences, 7(1), 13–27.

Al-Hakimi, M. A., Al Koliby, I. S., Al-Swidi, A. K., Mehat, N. A. B., & Taleb, T. S. (2025). From quality to green innovation: the catalytic role of green organizational culture in TQM and green manufacturing practice. International Journal of Innovation Science.

Al-Saffar, N. G., & Obeidat, A. M. (2020). The effect of total quality management practices on employee performance: The moderating role of knowledge sharing. Management science letters, 10(1), 77–90.

Al-Sarayrah, S., Tarhini, A., Obeidat, B. Y., Al-Salti, Z., & Kattoua, T. (2016). The effect of culture on strategic human resource management practices: A theoretical perspective. International Journal of Business Management and Economic Research, 7(4), 704–716.

Alabdullah, T. T. Y. (2019). Management accounting and service companies' performance: Research in emerging economies. Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal, 13(4).

Albliwi, S. A., Antony, J., Arshed, N., & Ghadge, A. (2017). Implementation of Lean Six Sigma in Saudi Arabian organisations: findings from a survey. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 34(4), 508–529.

Bartley, B., Gomibuchi, S., & Mann, R. (2007). Best practices in achieving a customer‐focused culture. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 14(4), 482–496.

Bashar, A., Hasin, A. A., & Jahangir, N. (2022). Linkage between TPM, people management and organizational performance. Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, 28(2), 350–366.

Benzaquen, J. B., & Narro, J. P. (2023). Total quality management in Peruvian goods companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 30(5), 1536–1561.

Bloomfield, J., & Fisher, M. J. (2019). Quantitative research design. Journal of the Australasian Rehabilitation Nurses Association, 22(2), 27–30.

Brits, H. (2018). A quest for waste reduction at institutions of higher learning: Investigating the integration of Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma methodologies with total quality management. South African Journal of Higher Education, 32(4), 37–50.

Cabrera, E. F., & Cabrera, A. (2005). Fostering knowledge sharing through people management practices. The international journal of human resource management, 16(5), 720–735.

Canbay, K., & Akman, G. (2023). Investigating changes of total quality management principles in the context of Industry 4.0: Viewpoint from an emerging economy. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 189, 122358.

Chakraborty, S., Chattopadhyay, R., & Chakraborty, S. (2020). An integrated D-MARCOS method for supplier selection in an iron and steel industry. Decision Making: Applications in Management and Engineering, 3(2), 49–69.

Dahlgaard-Park, S. M., Reyes, L., & Chen, C.-K. (2018). The evolution and convergence of total quality management and management theories. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 29(9-10), 1108–1128.

Dean Jr, J. W., & Bowen, D. E. (1994). Management theory and total quality: improving research and practice through theory development. Academy of management review, 19(3), 392–418.

Dednam, C. (2023). South African Steel Industry is an Industry in Distress. Creamer’s Media Engineering News. Available online: https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/opinion-south-african-steel-industry-is-an-industry-in-distress-2020-03-06/rep_id, 4136.

Doval, E., Viladrich, C., & Angulo-Brunet, A. (2023). Coefficient alpha: The resistance of a classic. Psicothema, 35(1), 5.

Dubey, R., Gunasekaran, A., Childe, S. J., Papadopoulos, T., & Helo, P. (2019). Supplier relationship management for circular economy: Influence of external pressures and top management commitment. Management Decision, 57(4), 767–790.

Durairatnam, S., Chong, S.-C., & Jusoh, M. (2019). People-related TQM practices, organisational culture, organisational justice and employee work-related attitudes for quality performance: a research agenda. Global Journal of Management and Business Research, 19(4), 1–10.

El-Kassar, A.-N., & Singh, S. K. (2019). Green innovation and organizational performance: The influence of big data and the moderating role of management commitment and HR practices. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 144, 483–498.

Fu, T., Liu, S., & Li, P. (2025). Digital twin-driven smelting process management method for converter steelmaking. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 36(4), 2749–2765.

Georgiev, S., & Ohtaki, S. (2020). Critical success factors for TQM implementation among manufacturing SMEs: Evidence from Japan. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 27(2), 473–498.

Golden Pryor, M., & Taneja, S. (2010). Henri Fayol, practitioner and theoretician–revered and reviled. Journal of management History, 16(4), 489–503.

Graves, L. M., Sarkis, J., & Gold, N. (2019). Employee proenvironmental behavior in Russia: The roles of top management commitment, managerial leadership, and employee motives. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 140, 54–64.

Guest, D. E. (2025). Strengthening links between HRM theories, HR practices and outcomes: A proposal to advance research on HRM and outcomes. Human Resource Management Journal, 35(1), 319–335.

Gutierrez-Gutierrez, L. J., Barrales-Molina, V., & Kaynak, H. (2018). The role of human resource-related quality management practices in new product development: A dynamic capability perspective. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 38(1), 43–66.

Hatchuel, A., & Segrestin, B. (2019). A century old and still visionary: Fayol's innovative theory of management. European Management Review, 16(2), 399–412.

Husain, Z., Dayan, M., Sushil, & Di Benedetto, C. A. (2022). Impact of customer focus on technology leadership via technology development capability–a moderated mediation model. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 37(2), 282–293.

Islamgaleyev, A., Petrova, M., Kurenkeyeva, G., Shalbayeva, S., & Kadirbergenova, A. (2020). Increasing customer focus in metal trading. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 8(1), 604.

Ittner, C. D., & Larcker, D. F. (1997). The performance effects of process management techniques. Management science, 43(4), 522–534.

Jimoh, R., Oyewobi, L., Isa, R., & Waziri, I. (2019). Total quality management practices and organizational performance: the mediating roles of strategies for continuous improvement. International journal of construction management, 19(2), 162–177.

Kalkbrenner, M. T. (2023). Alpha, omega, and H internal consistency reliability estimates: Reviewing these options and when to use them. Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation, 14(1), 77–88.

Kalogiannidis, S. (2021). Impact of employee motivation on organizational performance. A scoping review paper for public sector. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 8 (3), 984, 996(3).

Kalogiannidis, S. I. (2021). The effects of total quality management practices and marketing on performance of SMEs. A case of selected manufacturing industries, Greece. Business Management and Strategy, 12(1), 48–62.

Kumar, S., Kumar, S., & Barman, A. G. (2018). Supplier selection using fuzzy TOPSIS multi criteria model for a small scale steel manufacturing unit. Procedia computer science, 133, 905–912.

Lechler, S., Canzaniello, A., & Hartmann, E. (2019). Assessment sharing intra-industry strategic alliances: Effects on sustainable supplier management within multi-tier supply chains. International Journal of Production Economics, 217, 64–77.

Madonsela, N. S., Mukwakungu, S. C., & Mbohwa, C. (2017). Continuous innovation as fundamental enabler for sustainable business practices. Procedia Manufacturing, 8, 278–283.

Maged, A., Haridy, S., Kaytbay, S., & Bhuiyan, N. (2019). Continuous improvement of injection moulding using Six Sigma: case study. International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering, 32(2), 243–266.

Mahdikhani, M., & Karbasi, A. (2025). Integration of TQM and Circular Economy practices in supply chain: insights from industry perspective. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 36(7-8), 741–758.

Mano, M. M., Tita, A. F., & A. Obalade, A. (2025). Value-adding effect of foreign direct investment inflow on manufacturing: evidence from South Africa. Cogent Economics & Finance, 13(1), 2468888.

Md Zain, S. N., & Shafii, Z. (2018). The impact of Shariah governance to financial and non-financial performance in islamic financial institutions (ifis): A literature survey. International Journal of Islamic Business (IJIB), 3(2), 27–40.

Mirioba, G., & Muthimi, J. (2024). Effect of deployment of total quality management practices to enhance firm competitive advantage of selected manufacturing firms in Industrial Area, Nairobi City County, Kenya. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science, 13(3), 109–121.

Msatfa, N., Baidani, A., Chebabe, M., Msatfa, Z., & Hilali, A. (2025). Exploring the adoption of total quality management practices on hospital governance: evidence from Morocco. The TQM Journal.

Mvunabandi, J. D. (2022). Forensic auditing as a powerful tool to enhance non-government organisations’ fraud risk management: A study of selected NGOs in eThekwini region, South Africa University of KwaZulu-Natal].

Nasim, K., Sikander, A., & Tian, X. (2020). Twenty years of research on total quality management in Higher Education: A systematic literature review. Higher education quarterly, 74(1), 75–97.

Naughton, E., Moran, R., Kharub, M., Sa, J. C., & McDermott, O. (2024). A structured model for continuous improvement methodology deployment and sustainment: A case Study. Heliyon, 10(21).

Nguyen, T. L. H. (2021). Total quality management and customer loyalty: a survey of the quality management.

Nguyen, T. L. H., & Nagase, K. (2019). The influence of total quality management on customer satisfaction. International journal of healthcare management, 12(4), 277–285.

Obeidat, S. M. (2016). The link between e-HRM use and HRM effectiveness: an empirical study. Personnel review, 45(6), 1281–1301.

Obeidat, S. M., Mitchell, R., & Bray, M. (2016). The link between high performance work practices and organizational performance: Empirically validating the conceptualization of HPWP according to the AMO model. Employee relations, 38(4), 578–595.

Orçan, F. (2018). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis: which one to use first? Journal of Measurement and Evaluation in Education and Psychology, 9(4), 414–421.

Pérez, J. A. H., Geldes, C., Kunc, M. H., & Flores, A. (2019). New approach to the innovation process in emerging economies: The manufacturing sector case in Chile and Peru. Technovation, 79, 35–55.

Permana, A., Purba, H. H., & Rizkiyah, N. D. (2021). A systematic literature review of Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation in the organization. International Journal of Production Management and Engineering, 9(1), 25–36.

Poulsen, H. O., Ros, A., Braithwaite, J., Elg, M., & Kilander, H. (2025). Exploring a process-oriented way of working–a case study involving primary and specialised care. BMC Health Services Research, 25(1), 282.

Psomas, E., & Antony, J. (2017). Total quality management elements and results in higher education institutions: The Greek case. Quality Assurance in Education, 25(2), 206–223.

Psomas, E. L., Fotopoulos, C. V., & Kafetzopoulos, D. P. (2011). Core process management practices, quality tools and quality improvement in ISO 9001 certified manufacturing companies. Business Process Management Journal, 17(3), 437–460.

Ramchander, M., & Nadar, M. M. (2021). Using ISO 9001 principles to enhance total quality management: A case study of a packaging manufacturer in South Africa. African Journal of Inter/Multidisciplinary Studies, 3(1), 118–130.

Rodriguez, J., Valenzuela, M., & Ayuyao, N. (2018). TQM paradigm for higher education in the Philippines. Quality Assurance in Education, 26(1), 101–114.

Rotemberg, J. J. (1994). Human relations in the workplace. Journal of Political Economy, 102(4), 684–717.

Rudianto, Y. L. (2009). Competitiveness theory. Jurnal Ilmu Ekonomi dan Manajemen, 6(1), 31–66.

Sciarelli, M., Gheith, M. H., & Tani, M. (2020). The relationship between soft and hard quality management practices, innovation and organizational performance in higher education. The TQM Journal, 32(6), 1349–1372.

Singh, S. K., Chen, J., Del Giudice, M., & El-Kassar, A.-N. (2019). Environmental ethics, environmental performance, and competitive advantage: Role of environmental training. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 146, 203–211.

Sriyakul, T., Umam, R., & Jermsittiparsert, K. (2019). Supplier relationship management, TQM implementation, leadership and environmental performance: does institutional pressure matter. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 5(2), 211–227.

Sureshchandar, G. (2023). Quality 4.0–a measurement model using the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) approach. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 40(1), 280–303.

Taylor, F. W. (1967). Scientific management theory. In: New York: Norton & Company.

Texeira-Quiros, J., Justino, M. d. R., Antunes, M. G., Mucharreira, P. R., & Nunes, A. d. T. (2022). Effects of innovation, total quality management, and internationalization on organizational performance of higher education institutions. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 869638.

Toga, M. (2017). The relationship between total quality management and innovation in the South African foundry/steel industry University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa)].

Tukiran, M., Tan, P., & Sunaryo, W. (2021). Obtaining customer satisfaction by managing customer expectation, customer perceived quality and perceived value. Uncertain Supply Chain Management, 9(2), 481–488.

Turhangil Erenler, H. H. (2020). A structural equation model to evaluate students’ learning and satisfaction. Computer applications in engineering education, 28(2), 254–267.

Upadhyai, R., Jain, A. K., Roy, H., & Pant, V. (2019). A review of healthcare service quality dimensions and their measurement. Journal of Health Management, 21(1), 102–127.

Uy, F., Kilag, O., Abendan, C., Macapobre, K., Cañizares, M., & Yray, F. (2023). Application of adaptive crisis management theory: The dynamics of leadership in times of crisis. Excellencia: International Multi-disciplinary Journal of Education (2994-9521), 1(5), 159–170.

Van Assen, M. F. (2021). Training, employee involvement and continuous improvement–the moderating effect of a common improvement method. Production planning & control, 32(2), 132–144.

Wijethilake, C., & Lama, T. (2019). Sustainability core values and sustainability risk management: Moderating effects of top management commitment and stakeholder pressure. Business Strategy and the Environment, 28(1), 143–154.

Wiseman, P., Alavi, S., Habel, J., & Ehlig, P. A. (2025). Customer-Centric Contract Changes. Journal of Marketing Research, 62(3), 504–525.

Yan, Z., Zhang, Y.-R., Gong, M., Wu, Y., Zheng, Y., Li, S., Wang, C., Liang, F., Lin, J., & Xu, Y. (2019). Strongly correlated quantum walks with a 12-qubit superconducting processor. Science, 364(6442), 753–756.

Yang, S., Kim, J. K., & Song, R. (2020). Doubly robust inference when combining probability and non-probability samples with high dimensional data. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B: Statistical Methodology, 82(2), 445–465.

Yangailo, T. (2023). The mediating and moderating effect of total quality management practices on the association between strategic planning and competitive advantage: the case of railway sector. International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 40(4), 491–511.

Yusliza, M.-Y., Norazmi, N. A., Jabbour, C. J. C., Fernando, Y., Fawehinmi, O., & Seles, B. M. R. P. (2019). Top management commitment, corporate social responsibility and green human resource management: A Malaysian study. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 26(6), 2051–2078.

Zhang, W., & Agnihotri, R. (2025). Artificial intelligence for business and marketing: A customer-centric approach. Journal of marketing theory and practice, 33(2), 151–155.

Zimmer, K., Fröhling, M., & Schultmann, F. (2016). Sustainable supplier management–a review of models supporting sustainable supplier selection, monitoring and development. International journal of production research, 54(5), 1412–1442.

Downloads

Published

2026-03-31

Issue

Section

Original Research Paper

How to Cite

Mvunabandi, P. J. D., Mncwabe, N., & Marimuthu, F. (2026). Drivers of Total Quality Management Adoption in South African Manufacturing Companies: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach. International Journal of Applied Research in Business and Management, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.51137/wrp.ijarbm.559

Most read articles by the same author(s)