Relationship between quality management information and operational performance : International perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether quality management information (QMI) can be a source of competitive advantage and should be managed strategically. Design/methodology/approach – Analysis of variance and regression techniques were applied to the database of the high‐performance manufacturing (HPM) project to analyze the differences and similarities existing across the countries on the degree of implementation of QMI practices and their contribution to operational performance of manufacturing plants. Findings – The results of statistical analysis indicate significant differences in the implementation of QMI practices across the countries. This study highlights the important role of QMI in Japanese plants where shop‐floor and cross‐functional communication and information sharing practices significantly impact on different dimensions of operational performance. Practical implications – This study suggests that HPM could be achieved by the implementation of a set of communication and information sharing practices in shop‐floor and cross‐functional levels of manufacturing plants. Originality/value – Although scholars considered information as one dimension of quality management, existing quality management literature provides little empirical evidence on the relationship of QMI and operational performance of manufacturing plants. This paper fills the gap by introducing a comprehensive research framework to analyze the communication and information sharing practices in the shop‐floor and cross‐functional levels.