Leadership strategies for enhancing employee commitment in TQM

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show what motivational strategies can be applied to a successful implementation of total quality management (TQM) and how these support employee commitment. Design/methodology/approach: The relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to employee commitment is illustrated by presenting two case studies. Findings: Extrinsic motivation plays a role in enhancing normative commitment as a sense of indebtedness. Intrinsic motivation promotes a high level of normative commitment as moral duty and also a high level of affective commitment. Even if a TQM implementation project is not successful, the efforts to increase commitment are likely also have a cultural impact. Originality/value: The presented framework helps senior executives motivate employees properly to support organizational commitment and also the success of TQM implementation.