Total Quality Management implementation in Research and Development organisations: a comparative study of South Korea and Taiwan

This paper examined Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation in Research and Development (R&D) organisations with empirical data from South Korean and Taiwanese manufacturing firms. A literature review established three hypotheses in regard to similarity in TQM implementation patterns, the impact of TQM for innovation performance and the mediating role of hard TQM. TQM measures were based on the six criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, while innovation performance measures consisted of product quality and product innovation aspects. Our findings indicated that TQM practices were uniformly applied across the two countries. TQM were also found to have a significant impact on product quality and product innovation. However, the hypothesised mediating role of hard TQM was dismissed.