An Industry‐specific Study of Factors Contributing to the Maintenance and Longevity of Quality Circles

SUMMARY Lawler and Mohrman (1987), as others (Griffin, 1988; Marks et al., 1986), have associated a‘honeymoon effect’ (Lawler and Mohrman, 1987) or period of‘initial momentum’ (Solberg, 1985) with quality circle (QC) progress. They have been shown to be successful for about 2 years before there is a decline (Griffin, 1988). Focusing on a single synthetic rubber manufacturing facility, individuals who had participated in QCs at the site were surveyed. Because the QC programme had been in place for 7 years, this study sought to determine what factors contributed to that longevity