Improve constantly and forever : The influence of W. Edwards Deming into the twenty‐first century

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of Deming's ideas on the twenty‐first century. Design/methodology/approach – A ProQuest search of articles is done mentioning “Deming” and “quality” or “legacy” in the title published between 1994 (Deming died in December 1993) and 2006. Findings – It is found that 136 articles described Deming's legacy. Legacy in five areas are examined: professional accreditation, customer satisfaction, business ethics, human error, and supply‐side management. Practical implications – Deming's ideas have furthered not only quality management but have also touched areas in the social sciences, such as ethics and organizational relationships. Originality/value – This paper shows that Deming's ideas continue to flourish in areas that he emphasizes, such as the importance of customer satisfaction and understanding human error, and areas that he did not foresee, such as business ethics and supply‐side management.