Operationalizing Quality-II in Infrastructure Engineer-to-Order Supply Chain Production Systems: A Configurational Maturity Framework

Prior research has established Quality-II as a nascent paradigm that reframes quality management around learning, adaptation, and resilience through error management. Its principles are grounded in observations of best practices in infrastructure engineer-to-order (ETO) production systems delivered under relational procurement. However, applications of alternative procurement arrangements have been constrained by the lack of a structured basis for observing, describing, and comparing how these principles are enacted in practice. Our paper addresses this limitation by adopting a narrative review to develop a configurational maturity framework that operationalizes Quality-II at the level of ETO production. Error management is conceptualized as a capability expressed through interrelated practices of detection, interpretation, response, and learning, embedded within inter-organizational production. Four maturity profiles—defensive, procedural, adaptive, and generative—are derived, each representing a distinct configuration of Quality-II enactment. Our framework provides an analytical basis for examining and comparing variation in the enactment of Quality-II, enabling systematic empirical analysis across ETO production.