UKH Journal of Social Sciences | Volume 5 • Number 1 • 2021 29
The Effect of Total Quality Management on Organizational
Performance: Empirical Evidence from the Construction
Sector in Sulaymaniyah City, Kurdistan Region – Iraq
Dalia Khalid Faeq
1,2,a
, Zanete Garanti
3,b
, Zana Majed Sadq
1, 4,c*
1
Lecturer, Department of Management and Accounting, Faculty of Humanities and Social Science, Koya University,
Erbil, Iraq
2
Visiting Lecturer, Department of Business Administration, Collage of Business, Komar University of Science and
Technology, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq
3
Associate Professor, School of Business, City Unity College Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
4
Visiting Lecturer, Department of Business Administration, College of Administration and Economics, Lebanese-
French University, Erbil, Iraq
E-mail:
a
dalia.khalid@koyauniversity.org,
b
z.garanti@cityu.ac.cy,
c
zana.sadq@koyauniversity.org
1. Introduction
Due to competitive, environmental, economic globalization and technological changes, competition between firms has
increased intensely. This leads firms to be more concerned about seeking a quality management concept to face
competitive challenges and improve their performance. There are several quality management concepts, for example
Total Quality Management, Lean Manufacturing (just in time), Business Process Reengineering, Six Sigma and others
all of which aim to ensure quality competition. The current study focuses on Total Quality Management.
Deming, Juran and Feigenbaum, who are the founders of Total Quality Management, developed a new concept in the
area of statistical quality control and quality assurance (Deming & Edwards, 1082). The theory was adopted in Japan in
1960 (Teoman & Ulengin, 2018). Total Quality Management (TQM) has been implemented in the construction industry
in Japan since the 1970s (Arditi & Gunaydin, 1997). TQM started to affect the national business system in the 1980s
and was seen as a “revolution in management” (Vouzas & Psychogios, 2007), which has been widely adopted in the
construction sector in America since 1990 (Elghamrawy & Shibayama, 2008).
Ongoing consideration is given to Total Quality Management in developed countries such as USA, Japan, UK and
other European countries, however, investigations of Total Quality Management are still limited in developing countries
(Sadikoglu & Olcay, 2014; Baye & Raju, 2016; Othman et al., 2020). During the last few decades, the Total Quality
Access this article online
Received on: October 20, 2020
Accepted on: February 18, 2021
Published on: June 30, 2021
DOI: 10.25079/ukhjss.v5n1y2021.pp29-41
E-ISSN: 2520-7806
Copyright © 2021 Dalia et al. This is an open access article with Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (CC
BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Abstract
This empirical study seeks to examine the effect of Total Quality Management characterized by (management-
leadership, employee relations, supplier management, project design, training, quality data and reporting, process
management, continuous improvement, and customer focus) via organizational performance in the sector of
construction in Sulaymaniyah City - Kurdistan Region - Iraq. For conducting this study, the data was collected
through primary sources using a survey questionnaire to collect data from (106) leaders, heads of departments,
managers, and supervisors. The obtained data were analyzed using statistical analysis tools like SPSS and SEM. The
results showed that all the principles of Total Quality Management have a significant positive impact on construction
company performance. The proposed model showed an acceptable fit.
Keywords: Total Quality Management, Performance, Construction Companies, Managers, Supervisors.
Research Article
UKH Journal of Social Sciences | Volume 5 • Number 1 • 2021 30
Management philosophy has been adopted successfully in different sectors such as services (Jaca & Psomas, 2015; Lam
et al., 2011), education (Kanji &Wong, 1998), hospitality (Sripun & Ladkin, 2001; Camisón, 1999; Saunders & Graham,
1992; Xiaorong et al., 2013), health care (Short & Rahim, 1995; Rad, 2005), banking (Bilich & Neto, 2000; Vermeulen
& Crous, 2000) and manufacturing (Öztas et al, 2004; Rahman & Bullock, 2005). Accordingly, researchers have
suggested that implementing Total Quality Management in the construction industry can acquire similar benefits that
have been obtained in other sectors (Pheng & Teo, 2004; Arditi & Gunaydin, 1997; Othman et al., 2020). Moreover,
according to Oakland and Aldridge (1995) “if ever any industry needed to take up the concept of TQM, it is the
construction industry”.
The benefit of Total Quality Management practice in the construction industry can be embodied in decreasing costs
of doing things right from the first time with no defect, higher efficiency, and lower waste of resources as well as time
(Pheng & Teo, 2004; Sui Pheng & Ke-Wei, 1996; Harrington et al., 2012). Total Quality Management seeks employee
job satisfaction and quality performance by emphasizing training, encouraging teamwork, improving employee
relationships, and accepting their work for the first time without redo and rejection (Pheng & Teo, 2004; Sui Pheng &
Ke-Wei, 1996; Haupt & Whiteman, 2003). Furthermore, Total Quality Management helps to achieve higher customer
satisfaction by delivering high quality product or work (Kanji & Wong 1998; Wong, 1998; Haupt & Whiteman, 2003),
obtaining a higher market share, competitive advantages, and a good reputation (Wong, 1998; Pheng & Teo, 2004).
There is a progress in several construction companies that adopt Total Quality Management for their business operations
(Kanji & Wong, 1998).
The relationship between TQM and organizational performance needs to be tested among various countries (Wong,
1999) and sectors (Hassan et al., 2012; Shafiq et al., 2019). However, the construction sector in the Kurdistan Region
tries to follow the quality standards, but it still suffers from many restrictions that negatively affect a construction
companies' outcomes. One of the main reasons for those problems is due to poor strategies and management practices
(Othman, 2014). There is an ambiguity in the interest of these construction companies to recognize the importance of
Total Quality Management outputs. Therefore, the study problem can be determined by the following question:
Does Total Quality Management affect organizational performance in the Kurdistan Region – Iraq?
The importance of this study links between two important subjects, which are Total Quality Management and
organizational performance in the construction sector being considered as the only study in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region
(according to the knowledge of researchers). The findings of this study will provide insightful knowledge about TQM
from the perspective of the construction sector. This can help academics and quality practitioners who want to support
and promote TQM in the construction sector.
2. Literature Review and Hypotheses
2.1. Total Quality Management
There is no uniform definition of TQM (Bouranta et al., 2017), however, there are numerous definitions provided from
different viewpoints (Bay & Raju, 2016). TQM is a management philosophy, which is concerned about management of
quality rather than quality of management (Evans & Lindsay, 2008) via integrating all individuals from top management,
employees, suppliers to clients (Wilkinson & Witcher, 1993; Jaca & Psomas, 2015; Sadq, 2019) with functions and
processes (Omachonu & Ross, 2004) in an organization through continuous quality improvement (Sadikoglu & Olcay,
2014) to meet customers’ needs in the most competitive and effective ways (Harrington et al., 2012).
Chowdhury (2014) suggested that TQM is a management concept that lies in the application of quality principles in all
departments of any organization. The principles used to measure TQM vary from one study to another. Fening et al.
(2013) and Hoonakker et al. (2010) suggested translating TQM principles used in manufacturing and the construction
sector. Saraph et al. (1989) identified eight factors of TQM in the manufacturing sector, namely: management-
leadership, employee relations, supplier quality management, product/service design, training, quality data and reporting,
process management, and the role of quality department. Kayank (2003) conducted a study in the USA manufacturing
and service industry. He used seven elements of TQM, namely: management-leadership, employee relations, supplier
quality management, product/service design, training, quality data and reporting and process management. Yasamis et
al. (2002) indicated seven quality-attributes in the construction sector: leadership, employee, empowerment, partnership
development, information and analysis, project management process, continuous improvement, client focus. Koh and
Low (2010) identified six TQM principles for the construction sector: top management-leadership, people management,
supplier management, organization and learning, quality information management, process management, continual
improvement, and customer management. The above-mentioned studies, as well as studies of Das et al. (2008), Ammar
et al. (2017) and Panuwatwanich and Nguyen (2017) were used as the basis for building TQM principles used in the
current study: management-leadership, employee relations, supplier management, project design, training, quality data
and reporting, process management, continual improvement, and customer focus.
2.2. Organizational Performance
UKH Journal of Social Sciences | Volume 5 • Number 1 • 2021 31
Performance can be defined as a result of organizational operation to meet the setting goals (Lam et al., 2011; Ahmad
et al., 2019). Various perspectives on performance have been analyzed in relation to TQM, for financial performance
(Hendricks & Singhal, 2001; Eriksson & Hansson, 2003) non-financial performance (Demirbag et al., 2006) operational
performance (Samson & Terziovski, 1999) innovation performance (Hung et al., 2011; Ooi et al., 2012; Ali et al., 2018),
and employee performance (Shieh & Wang, 2006; Aljaf & Sadq, 2015). Other researchers studied multiple performance
indicators. Kayank (2003) studied financial and market performance, inventory management performance and quality
performance, whereas Sadikoglue and Zehir (2010) focused on operational performance, inventory management
performance and employee performance, while Jaca and Psomas (2015) considered the dimension outcomes of financial
performance, customer satisfaction, product/service quality performance and operational performance. There are
limited empirical studies to measure performance in the construction sector in relation to TQM implementation
therefore, current study adopts the measurement of a construction company’s performances from the study of
Panuchwanchi and Nguyen (2017) that defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as quality of work, external customer
satisfaction performance, safety, market share, effectiveness of planning, labor efficiency, rate of successful tenders or
quality contractor selected, competency in the human resource management and risk control.
Organizational performance is a vital sign of the organization, showing how well activities within a process or the
outputs of a process achieve a specific goal. The opportunity for human resources to enhance career skills and develop
jobs is a key factor in motivating employees. Opportunity must be given to employees to grow and develop (Omer et
al., 2017). The most significant factors in employee motivation are training and development programs (Ahmed & Faeq,
2020). This will express the opportunity to generate, motivate, devote, and grow workers who will promote both the
organization as well as the employees through training and development programs (Sadq et al., 2020).
There is no single universal method that is able to utilize and assess the overall performance of the organization as
clear as the literature on performance of organization that demonstrates a general consensus among theorists (Sadq,
2019). In addition, traditional financial methods are not accepted as the sole indicators for performance of the
organization. The secret behind the success of many organizations is mostly because the employees continuously view
methods to improve their work. Getting the employees to reach their full potential at work under stressful conditions
is a tough challenge, but this can be achieved by motivating them (Sadq, 2019). Wali et al. (2016) states that the ultimate
objective of a business organization is to maximize the wealth or financial performance for stakeholders. In general, the
performance of the organization is indicated by efficiency (organization properly uses resources), effectiveness (achieves
the organization objectives), employee satisfaction, quality of services or products, innovation and customers, and
maintenance of a unique pool of human ability.
Predominantly, organizations seek to have an active and continuous enlargement through productivity, employee
satisfaction and profit. The success or failure of an organization mainly pivots on the employees’ capabilities (Khatab et
al., 2019), while Sadq et al. (2020) pointed out that the role of workers in organizations can never be overemphasized.
Consequently, applying adequate motivation of employees which will attain the desired organization’s purpose must be
effective. Moreover, an effective motivational method can be illustrated as the technique to influence and enhance
employees towards the performance of an organization.
Based on the above literature, the following hypothesis based framework can be proposed in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Theoretical framework (Source: proposed by researchers).
UKH Journal of Social Sciences | Volume 5 • Number 1 • 2021 32
H0: There is a negative impact of Total Quality Management on organizational performance. This hypothesis is derived
from the following sub-hypotheses:
H0 (a): Management-Leadership of TQM practice has a negative impact on construction company performance.
H0 (b): Employee Relations of TQM practice have a negative impact on construction company performance.
H0 (c): Supplier Management of TQM practice has a negative impact on construction company performance.
H0 (d): Project Design of TQM practice has a negative impact on construction company performance.
H0 (e): Training of TQM practice has a negative impact on construction company performance.
H0 (f): Quality Data and Reporting of TQM practice have a negative impact on construction company performance.
H0 (g): Process Management of TQM practice has a negative impact on construction company performance.
H0 (h): Continuous Improvement of TQM practice has a negative impact on construction company performance.
H0 (i): Customer Focus of TQM practice has a negative impact on construction company performance.
3. Methodology
3.1. Measurement Instrument
A survey questionnaire was used to collect primary data in order to complete the practical aspect of the study. The first
section of the questionnaire contains the demographic information of the respondents namely age, gender, position,
work experience, qualification, type and size of the company, as shown in Table 1. The second section contains 59
questions related to the study variables as shown in Table 2.
A five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) was used. The Back translation method
was also used to translate the questionnaire from English to Kurdish and Arabic.
SEM was used to test the hypothesis and examine the relationships between unobserved or multidimensional variables
as generally leaner modeling (GLM) such as ANOVA or multiple regressions cannot be applied (Lei & Wu, 2007).
3.2. Sample Size and Data Collection
The target population of the current study consists of (leaders, heads of departments, top and middle managers,
supervisors) working at the construction company located in Sulaymaniyah City/ Kurdistan Region- Iraq. At the time
of conducting this study, there were (40) construction companies registered with the Board of Investment of Kurdistan-
Iraq and had permission to operate in Sulaymaniyah City.
135 questionnaires were distributed among 25 companies out of which a total of 106 were usable. The usable
questionnaire rate was 78%, which is consistent with the response rate provided by the study of Panuwatwanich and
Nguyen (2017).
In order to avoid bias, the following steps were taken: firstly, informing questionnaire receivers by telephone, or a face-
to-face conversation (Sadikoglu & Olcay, 2014). Secondly, sending questionnaires with a cover letter and using a face-
to-face method for data collection (Baye & Raju, 2016; Sadikoglu & Olcay, 2014). Thirdly, obtaining the response after
one month vis a face-to-face meeting.
A total of 60% of the participants were in the position of department heads, 38% of them have 10-19 years of work
experience and 32% of them has 5-9 years of work experience. The majority of respondents, as many as 70% have a
Bachelor’s degree through which 83% of participants work in local companies, the rest work in international companies.
28% of the participants work in medium size companies that have 150-199 employees, while 31% of the participants
work in companies which have above 200 employees. As shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Participant Demographic Data Analysis.
Frequency
Percentage %
Gender
Male
85
80
Female
21
20
Total
106
100
Age
18- 30 Years
32
30
UKH Journal of Social Sciences | Volume 5 • Number 1 • 2021 33
31-40 Years
42
40
41-50 Years
21
20
51 Years and above
11
10
Total
106
100
Position
Top executive
18
17
Department head
64
60
Other
24
23
Total
106
100
Work Experience
Under 5 years
19
18
5-9 years
34
32
10-19 years
40
38
Above 20 years
13
12
Total
106
100
Qualification
NO Degree
10
9
Diploma
15
14
Bachelor Degree
74
70
Masters and PhD
7
7
Total
106
100
Type of the company
Local
88
83
International
18
17
Total
106
100
Size of the Company
Under 50 staff
8
8
50-99
19
18
100-149
16
15
150-199
30
28
Above 200
33
31
Total
106
100
4. Data Analysis and Findings
4.1. Measurement Model
The Initial analysis for confirmatory factor analysis of items shows the standardized loadings more than 0.50 in Table
1. The overall model fit supported the measurement model (
,
RMSEA = .049, NFI = .90, TLI = .98, CFI = .99, IFI = .99). As reported in Table 2, in the CFA application, larger
standardized loading estimates confirm that the indicators are strongly related to their associated constructs and are
indications of construct validity (Hair et al., 2010). All loadings were greater than 0.50, which were significant. The
average variance extracted (AVE) was also greater than 0.50. These findings collectively revealed that convergent validity
was achieved (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Discriminant validity was checked through Fornell and Larcker's (1981) method.
The AVE values between the continuous improvement and process management, employee relations, quality data and
reporting, management-leadership, customer focus, supplier management, project design, training, construction
company performance were greater than the squared correlation between the relevant latent constructs. CFA provides
a way of assessing discriminant validity and according to Hair et al. (2010) comparing the average variance-extracted
(AVE) values. Passing this test provides good evidence of discriminant validity (Hair et al., 2010). Convergent validity
of the CFA result has to be supported by item (α) reliability, construct reliability, variance extracted, and average variance
extracted (Hair et al., 2010). All the factor loading results are found to be significant (ρ < 0.001). In addition, construct
reliability estimates ranging from 0.61 to 0.90 which are exceeding the critical value of 0.7 recommended by Hair et al.
(2010) indicating it was satisfactory. In summary, it appeared that discriminant validity was achieved.
All measures were reliable because each of which has composite reliability (>0.60) as well as coefficient alpha (>0.70)
according to Bagozzi and Yi, (1988), and Hair et al. (2010). The results for the reliability scores of measures are reported
in Table 1, summary statistics and correlations of observed variables are given in Table 2.
UKH Journal of Social Sciences | Volume 5 • Number 1 • 2021 34
Table 2. Scale items and their sources and confirmatory factor analysis results.
Scale Items
Factor
loading
t-value
Management Leadership (AVE =. 91, CR =. 86, α =. 975, Skew. = -1.2, Kurt. = . 11)
(Aammer et al., 2017)
TQM 10
7.916
TQM 11 Organization’s top management has objectives for quality
0.878
6.611
TQM 12
0.81
5.558
TQM 13
0.933
7.104
TQM 14
0.941
7.744
TQM 15 Major department heads within the organization participate in the quality
improvement process
0.966
8.542
TQM 16
0.93
8.217
TQM 17
Employee Relations (AVE =. 98, CR =. 74, α =. 986, Skew. = -. 99, Kurt. = -. 22)
(Panuwatwanich and Nguyen, 2017)
TQM 18 Communication links are established between employees and top
management
0.993
6.697
TQM 19
0.979
6.575
TQM 20
0.971
6.262
TQM 21
Supplier Management (AVE =. 86, CR =. 80, α = .944, Skew. = -. 92, Kurt. =. 22)
(Koh & Low, 2010)
TQM 22
0.877
11.593
TQM 23 implementation is considered in the project design process
0.873
11.593
TQM 24
0.794
10.176
TQM 25 Resources are available for employee education and training in our
company
0.877
9.067
TQM 26
0.868
9.599
TQM 27
Project Design (AVE =. 90, CR =. 78, α =. 958, Skew. = -1.1, Kurt. =. 22)
(Kaynak, 2003)
TQM 28
TQM 29
0.848
8.565
TQM 30 Quality data are reported and recorded timely.
0.944
9.846
TQM 31
0.915
8.460
TQM 32
0.902
9.986
Training (AVE =. 96, CR = .79, α = .985, Skew. = -. 91, Kurt. = .22)
(Das et al., 2008)
TQM 33 Prevent faulty works from being worked on
TQM 34
0.97
6.506
TQM 35
0.967
6.450
TQM 36
0.96
5.735
TQM 37
0.956
5.802
Quality Data and Reporting (AVE =. 93, CR =. 61, α =. 925, Skew. = -1.14, Kurt. =
.75) Panuwatwanich and Nguyen (2017),
TQM 38 Analyze performance and cost data to support improvement
TQM 39
0.929
9.546
TQM 40
0.928
9.866
UKH Journal of Social Sciences | Volume 5 • Number 1 • 2021 35
Process Management (AVE=. 88, CR =. 82, α = .960, Skew. = -1.02, Kurt. = .55)
(Koh & Low, 2010)
TQM 41 Adopt programs to find time cost losses in all processes
TQM 42
0.885
8.169
TQM 43
0.848
8.928
TQM 44
0.802
6.738
TQM 45
0.928
7.278
TQM 46
0.924
7.177
TQM 47
0.909
6.705
Continuous Improvement (AVE =. 89, CR =. 83, α = .964, Skew. = -. 98, Kur. = .16)
(Koh & Low ,2010)
TQM 48
0.9
7.528
TQM 49
0.921
7.582
TQM 50
0.917
8.812
TQM 51 Number of complaints against your organizational work has reduced over
the last five years.
0.899
7.693
TQM 52
0.906
7.779
TQM 53
0.807
4.596
TQM 54
Customer Focus (AVE =. 91, CR =. 71, α =. 956, Skew. = - .72, Kurt. = -.41)
(Das et al., 2008)
TQM 55
TQM 56
0.9
5.731
TQM 57
0.929
4.638
TQM 58
0.913
3.696
Construction Company Performance (AVE =. 93, CR =. 90, α =. 986, Skew. =-. 78,
Kurt. = -.51) (Nguyen, 2014)
CCP 59 Quality of work done by your organization is accepted by the client at the
first time
CCP 60
0.917
5.197
CCP 61
0.916
4.792
CCP 62
0.945
6.684
CCP 63 Number of projects managed/constructed by your organization is
increasing.
0.946
6.008
CCP 64 The estimated cost and time to complete project work is not significantly
different from the actual values
0.93
5.039
CCP 65
0.932
5.017
CCP 66
0.945
4.729
CCP 67
0.932
5.297
CCP 68 Risk management is applied effectively to projects
0.944
5.660
CCP 69
0.931
5.175
Model fit statistics:
, RMSEA=.049, NFI=.90,
TLI=.98, CFI=.99, IFI=.99
Note: All loading results are significant at the 0.01 level. AVE = Average variance extracted; CR =
Composite reliability; α = Coefficient alpha; CFI = Comparative fit index; NFI = Normed fit index; IFI =
Incremental-fit index, TLI = Tucker-Lewis index, RMSEA = Root mean square error of approximation
UKH Journal of Social Sciences | Volume 5 • Number 1 • 2021 36
Testing the Hypotheses
The measurement model was subjected to confirmatory factor analysis for convergent and discriminant validity as well
as composite reliability (e.g., Bagozzi & Yi, 1988; Fornell & Larcker, 1981; Hair et al., 2010). Skewness is ranged from
(-1.18 to -0.719) and the values of kurtosis ranged from (-0.513 to 0.753), as reported in Table 2. This result suggests
that the distribution of the data is considered normal (Field, 2013; Panuwatwanich et al., 2008).
The results in Figure 2 explain that each of continuous improvement (
) and process management
(
) appear to be more reliable indicators, followed by employee relations (
),
quality data and reporting (
), management leadership (
), customer focus
(
), supplier management (
), project design (
), and
training (
). The empirical data support hypothesis as TQM exerts a strong positive impact on CCP
( ). In light of these results the null hypothesis is rejected.
The results reported in Figure 2 illustrate that TQM also influences construction company performance (z = 6.68),
followed by continuous improvement (z = 6.53) and process management (z = 6.45), employee relations (z = 6.42),
quality data and reporting (z = 6.23), customer focus (z =5.83), supplier management (z = 5.49), project design (5.21),
and training (z = 5.17). The control variables do not exert any significant impacts on the study variables and do not lead
to any statistical confounds. The results explain 75% of the variance in construction company performance (CCP). The
p-value of each principle of TQM is significant, thus it can be concluded that all nine principles are significantly related
to the TQM, then the accuracy model can be satisfied when the variance proportion value of observed variables is
greater than 0.50 (Koufteros, 1999). The variance proportion value of each observed variable has exceeded the critical
value 0.50 and are ranged from (0.54 – 0.72).
Figure 2. Structural model for the impact of TQM on Construction Company Performance.
Table 3. Summary statistics and correlations of observed variables.
Mean
SD
ML
ER
SM
PD
T
QDR
PM
CI
CF
TQ
M
CC
P
ML
3.96
1.22
1
ER
3.81
1.29
0.67
1
SM
3.95
.86
0.673
0.629
1
PD
4.03
1.04
0.541
0.696
0.66
1
T
3.67
1.08
0.566
0.633
0.664
0.83
1
QDR
3.99
.98
0.678
0.78
0.784
0.765
0.784
1
UKH Journal of Social Sciences | Volume 5 • Number 1 • 2021 37
PM
3.83
1.01
0.751
0.726
0.763
0.742
0.745
0.881
1
CI
3.81
1.06
0.782
0.775
0.715
0.67
0.684
0.829
0.814
1
CF
3.54
1.13
0.702
0.725
0.58
0.56
0.572
0.713
0.709
0.841
1
TQM
3.85
.93
0.855
0.846
0.829
0.814
0.818
0.913
0.92
0.923
0.825
1
CCP
3.65
1.19
0.846
0.762
0.695
0.578
0.63
0.721
0.783
0.883
0.834
0.884
1
5. Discussion
The current study gathered data from leaders, heads of departments, managers and supervisors who work in the private
construction companies. The result of the structural equation model indicates that those practices data fit to the model
and reject the null hypothesis, and in turn, supports our research alternative hypothesis. The findings also support other
studies in the literature that investigated the impact of TQM on organizational performance in different industries:
manufacturing, service, hospitality, banking and education in both developed and developing countries (Nancy &
Evangelos, 2016; Jaca & Psomas, 2015; Lam et al., 2011; Fotopoulos & Psomas, 2010; Yusuf et al., 2007; Rahman &
Bullock, 2005; Kaynak, 2003), and studies conducted in the construction sector (Panuwatwanich & Nguye, 2017;
Elghamrawy & Shibayama, 2008).
The findings of this study indicate an interesting pattern of the relationship between TQM principles and construction
company performance. Continual improvement, process management and quality data reporting have the highest
positive relationship with company performance supporting the study of Shafiq et al. (2019) who reported that hard
TQM principles have a higher positive relationship with financial and non-financial performance. In the construction
sector, employee relations has a crucial role in organizational success as most of the work is done via teamwork. In
addition to this, the current study reports that training and supplier management have the weakest positive relationship
with performance. As explained by Salaheldin (2009), training and supplier management as a tactical strategy have a
weak positive relationship with financial and non-financial performance. The study by Rahman and Bullock (2005)
reported that hard TQM elements affect organizational performance through supporting it by soft TQM elements,
which is in line with current findings.
6. Conclusion
This study provides an empirical foundation for obtaining and improving construction company performance using
TQM practices. Explanation of nature of TQM in developing countries, using practical implications as it explains TQM
implementation in terms of management-leadership commitment, employee relations, supplier management, project
design, training, quality data and reporting, process management, continuous improvement and customer focus as
important factors that contribute towards the development of organizations working in Northern Iraq.
The findings of this study indicate that TQM has a strong positive impact on construction company performance,
which supports the argument of TQM practices leading companies to achieve higher levels of performance, including
the quality of work, external customer satisfaction, safety, market share, the effectiveness of planning, labor efficiency,
the rate of successful tenders or quality contractor selected, competency in managing human resources, risk control, and
manager’s competency. Thus, this study shows that the construction industry can achieve similar benefits from TQM
implementation as those obtained from other types of industries in both developed and developing countries.
Managerial decisions to invest in TQM are supported by empirical results showing that TQM principles lead to improved
performance.
7. Limitations and Future Research
The present study focused on the private construction companies and hence cannot be generalized to public
construction organizations or other different sectors. To enchase the database for a generalization to allow comparisons,
future studies may obtain data from other sectors. Cross-sectional comparisons should also be investigated. It is also
suggested that the future studies may explore the role of moderating variables like organizational learning, change
management and organizational culture in the relation between TQM and performance.
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