Causal effects of registration efforts on business performance of ISO 9001-certified companies in the Malaysian construction industry using SEM
Year: 2010
Type: dissertation
Abstract: ISO 9000:2000 family of standards, the theoretical foundation of this research, was formulated based on the accumulated knowledge and collective experience of quality experts with Deming's quality management theory encapsulated.In order to investigate the effects of registrations on the competitiveness and business performance of ISO 9001-certified companies, five latent constructs which are facets of ISO 9001 standard were first identified.The five latent constructs are registration efforts, quality management system (QMS) practices, company competitiveness, customer satisfaction and business performance.Due to the requirements to attain and maintain registrations, ISO 9001-certified companies were recommended to practise the eight QM principles and the process-based approach in ISO 9001 standard.As a result of time sequence effects, the registration efforts taken were reasons for and causes of QMS practices being implemented, in addition to organisational improvements gained, namely company competitiveness, customer satisfaction and business performance.A conceptual model was proposed to depict the hypothesised relationships among the five constructs.Measurement models were then developed for the five constructs and incorporated into the conceptual model to obtain a structural model.Subsequently, to operationalise the five constructs, a measurement instrument was designed to collect quantitative data.The target population for this research was the ISO 9001-certified companies in the Malaysian construction company.A total of 456 survey questionnaires were sent out, and 100 usable replies were received.The response rate was about 22.6%.The data collected were first collated and analysed for descriptive statistics related to the motivations for ISO 9001 certifications, the extent of registration efforts taken to obtain and maintain ISO 9001 certifications, the importance assigned to registration efforts taken for successful implementation of ISO 9001 certifications, the extent of QMS practices in ISO 9001-certified companies, the benefits gained and the organisational improvements experienced from ISO 9001 implementations.For inferential statistics, the QMS framework used to identify the indicators and factors of the five latent constructs was first established using exploratory factor analysis, where unidimensionality and reliability for internal consistency were investigated.The QMS framework was then validated using confirmatory factor analysis to assess the convergent validity and construct reliability of the measurement models.Structural equation modelling was performed on the final structural model to establish model fit and construct validity.Finally, the significance, direction and magnitude of each hypothesised causal path were assessed through parsimonius model.The results showed that there was significant positive relationship between registration efforts and QMS practices.There was also strong evidence that QMS practices significantly enhanced company competitiveness, which in turn enhanced customer satisfaction and business performance.The research findings have practical relevance to the top management of ISO 9001-certified companies in the Malaysian construction industry, as effective and iv systematic implementation of ISO 9001 registrations are important tactically for gaining increased company competitiveness and strategically for improved business performance.The knowledge gained from the application of SEM in quality engineering and construction management research is also a significant contribution to the body of theoretical knowledge in quality management.
Author: Mal Kong Sia
Language: English
Subfield: Strategy and Management
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2674639359