Relationship between quality management practices, performance and maturity quality management, a contingency approach

Quality management is a key element in organizations to improve operational performance, product quality and organizational performance, but despite extensive research, it is still necessary to determine which quality management practices are most important or can generate the greatest benefits in organizations. Likewise, evidence has been found which concludes that not all implementations of quality management systems generate positive effects, so it is necessary to introduce contingent variables in the studies that allow understanding the different situations and thus define which variables are more relevant according to the contingency studied. Sfreddo, Vieira, Vidor, and Santos (2018) and Sousa and Voss (2002) propose to include the variable of quality maturity level as a contingency variable in order to determine which quality management practices are more relevant according to their maturity level. In this study, a multidimensional study of quality management practices and their relationship to the operational performance of organizations was carried out, taking the quality management maturity level as a contingent variable. The result of the evaluation of the level of maturity as a contingency variable has demonstrated that the effects of benefits in the operative performance are presented in the levels of high maturity, in changes in the levels below these do not present a significant relation. It was also demonstrated in the study the importance of working in the QM practices infrastructure to allow the development of QM core practices since these are the ones that finally impact on the operational performance.