Quality Management: A cross-cultural perspective based on the GLOBE framework

This paper presents the results of a survey administered across twenty-one countries that seeks to examine quality practices, priorities and performance by adopting the Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) framework (House et al., 2004). The purpose of this study is to test the validity of the “culture-specific” argument as an explanatory construct for explaining quality management. Data was collected in 2006 as part of the fourth iteration of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS). The methodology involved the use of a self-administered questionnaire to director/head of operations/manufacturing in best practice firms within the sector of firms classified by ISIC codes (rev.3.1) Divisions 28-35. From this study, it emerges that adopting the GLOBE instrument provides an invaluable insight around understanding the issue of convergence or divergence in quality management across countries.