title: Total Quality Management Strategy for Improving Business Performance of the Service Sector in Jordan
Creators: name: ALKARAKI, W
Publisher: name: Liverpool John Moores University
Year: 2021

description: The position of Jordan as a developing country in a strategic part of the Middle East is important since economic advancements within the country function to motivate other Arab countries in the region and beyond, and in this era of globalisation all such countries are searching for ways to compete for their survival. Some of the economic advancements identified are known to be rooted in successful efforts to enhance the quality of goods and services in a bid to engender greater customer satisfaction, increase loyalty, and thereby, ultimately improve profitability. This study focuses on the potential of Jordan’s service sector to deliver enhanced services through the implementation of the Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy in private sector service organisations. Such enhancement via the application of TQM is believed to significantly support the national economy by boosting the GDP in Jordan (Ministry of Finance, 2017). In securing its empirical data, the study conducted a survey of 314 individuals at the level of general manager, manager, financial manager or quality manager, since personnel in these positions are considered to be highly educated, to possess a sound appreciation of the philosophy and practice of TQM, and to simultaneously play a key role within organisations and thus be influential in ensuring TQM effectiveness and in furthering an appropriate organisational culture. Four different industries of the country’s overall service sector - banks, hospitals, hotels, and communication companies - are targeted with the aim of identifying the critical success factors (CSFs) associated with TQM implementation, and evaluating the effects of such factors in the Jordanian service sector. In terms of objectives, the study explores the level of TQM implementation in the research sample, the relationship between type, size, experience, and ISO-certification, and the degree of TQM implementation, and the impact of the TQM CSFs on company non-financial, and financial performance. It then produces a framework for successful TQM implementation which is validated for use in the Jordanian context. The survey data is collected via a quantitative approach in which a researcher-administered questionnaire comprised of statements measured on a Likert-type scale is used to gather comprehensive data about TQM implementation. The data are then statistically analysed using techniques ranging from advanced Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to correlation analysis. From the findings, it is seen that of a range of CSFs identified within the literature and tested in the study, seven are able to predict non-financial performance, these being: Customer Focus and Satisfaction, Continuous Improvement, Employee Encouragement, Management Commitment, Culture and Communication, Information Analysis, and Training Education. Additionally, four are able to predict financial performance, which are: Management Commitment, Customer Focus and Satisfaction, Continuous Improvement and Non-financial Performance. These predictions apply equally to the four types of organisation in the sample, and consequently, generalisation across the Jordanian service sector is assumed. It is, therefore, recommended that all service sector organisations in Jordan give attention to these dimensions of their operations as a means of realising the benefits to be achieved by fine-tuning their TQM implementation.