An empirical investigation on TQM practices and knowledge sharing mediation in software industry

Purpose The adequate culture of knowledge sharing in organizations is considered a key factor for improving the employees’ performance. Along with knowledge sharing, total quality management (TQM) practices are the ways to achieve business excellence. The purpose of this paper is to explore the mediating effect of knowledge sharing on the relationship between TQM practices and employees’ performance. Design/methodology/approach The quantitative study has been carried out in software houses of Pakistan. Data were collected from 340 employees using survey questionnaires from software houses of Pakistan and is analyzed through structural equation modeling technique using SPSS 22.0 and SmartPLS 2.0. Findings The results reveal that knowledge sharing partially mediates between TQM practices and employee performance. Furthermore, the results indicate that the TQM practices should be implemented holistically rather than individually. Research limitations/implications The generalization of the results is limited as the sample size is relatively small and represents software houses of only four regions in Pakistan. Moreover, the study findings were only based on software houses. So, these should be applied to other sectors with caution. Originality/value This study complements the previous researches and seeks to extend literature that how the core elements of knowledge sharing mediate between TQM practices and employees’ performance especially, in developing countries like Pakistan.