Key quality management practices of leading firms in Brazil: findings of a pilot‐study

Notes that quality management practices of leading firms have increasingly been considered benchmarks for other companies in quest of successful competitive technologies. Shares the most relevant findings of the authors’ study on key quality practices of leading firms in Brazil. Includes comparisons with results of research in the USA. Identifies socio‐cultural factors as a root‐cause for the difficulties of employing these practices effectively in Brazil. Recommends the development of innovative capabilities and cultural synergies, in the scope of the increasing associations with foreign firms, to overcome at least some of the difficulties at issue.