Quality 4.0 conceptualisation and theoretical understanding : a global exploratory qualitative study

Purpose: Quality 4.0 has a unique potential to create a competitive advantage for organisations by improving customer experience and enhancing profitability. The purpose of this study is to examine Quality 4.0, the9; benefits, motivating factors, critical success factors and the skills required by quality professionals in the successful implementation of Quality 4.0. The study also investigates the organisational readiness factors9 and challenges that need to be addressed before Quality 4.0 adoption and assess their importance. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative interview approach was utilised by interviewing a panel of senior management, engineering and continuous improvement (CI); professionals working in leading companies in Asia, Europe and America who are currently deploying Quality 4.0. Findings: This study provides a theoretical base for the Quality 4.0 body of knowledge in terms of an organisation’s adoption and overcoming implementation challenges and providing examples of Quality 4.0 application. Organisations can use this study to understand what Quality 4.0 means to industry, the benefits and motivating factors for implementing, the Critical Success Factors, challenges, the organisational readiness factors and the role of leadership in a Quality 4.0 deployment. In addition, the study looks at the skills required by future Quality 4.0 professionals in terms of hard skills, soft skills and a curriculum for educating future quality management professionals. The respondents cited that predictive analytics, sensors and tracking, and electronic feedback loops are the most critical technologies for driving Quality 4.0. Research limitations/implications: One of the limitations of this research was that as this area is a nascent area the researchers were limited in their literature review. The second limitation was that the study was based on 12 interviews. A more comprehensive longitudinal study would yield more data so that better and robust conclusions can be derived from the study. Originality/value: This is the first empirical study on Quality 4.0, which captures the viewpoints of senior management professionals on a full range of topics related to Quality 4.0 motivation for deployment, implementation and readiness for its adoption.