Lb. Forker et al., THE CONTRIBUTION OF QUALITY TO BUSINESS PERFORMANCE, International journal of operations & production management, 16(8), 1996, pp. 44
Quality is consistently listed as one of manufacturing's top competiti
ve priorities and has become a prerequisite for success in the global
marketplace. Quality helps a firm gain a competitive advantage by deli
vering goods to the marketplace that meet customer needs, operate in t
heir intended manner, and continuously improve quality dimensions in o
rder to ''surprise and delight'' the customer. While quality's signifi
cance has been emphasized for years, the contribution of quality to bu
siness performance has been largely unexplored. Results of a survey se
nt to the furniture industry show that quality dimensions - especially
design quality and product improvement - are highly correlated with b
usiness performance. Quality remains the foundation of competitive adv
antage, even if a firm's short-term attention has drifted to speed-to-
market, cost reduction and other concerns.