Prioritising critical success factors of total quality management in autonomous driving business models: A comparison between Germany and China

As one of the most strategically relevant and financially promising developing industries, the requirements for autonomous driving (AD) systems' reliability are dramatically higher than in the driver-based car industry. Using the analytic hierarchy process method, this study conducts a quantitative empirical study to prioritise the 15 critical success factors (CSFs) of total quality management (TQM) in the AD-ecosystem. The CSFs are derived from VDA and IATF 16949, two widely accepted TQM-frameworks in the car industry. Comparisons are made between Germany and China as two of the most important places in the world for strategic marketing for autonomous driving.