Approaches to adopting quality in SMEs and the impact on quality management practices and performance

Do different approaches to adopting quality impact on performance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs)? Focusing on ISO 9000 and TQM as representing different ways of introducing quality, this paper investigates whether embarking on more clearly specified approaches to quality, such as ISO 9000 first or alternatively TQM, makes a difference to quality management practices and performance. Data from an Australian empirical survey of managers of small and medium enterprises were analysed and suggest that broader approaches to quality, such as TQM produce better quality outcomes. Organizations that had focused solely on ISO 9000 did not produce any noticeable performance benefits.