Spatial dimensions of quality control practices adoption and enterprise performance in Zimbabwe

This study investigated whether spatial proximity to adopters of quality control practices improves their implementation and whether such practices improve enterprise performance under different formalisation settings in Zimbabwe, using a Propensity Score Matching approach. We find that spatial proximity to implementers of quality control practices increases the enterprise’s probability of adopting the practices. Implementation of these practices enhances enterprise performance. Formal enterprises exhibit higher marginal returns to the individual implementation of quality control practices than informal ones. However, when implemented simultaneously, the marginal returns to quality control practices converge across formal and informal enterprises, rendering the distinction between formality irrelevant.